


A Good Knight

by Salty_kisses_n_winter_hugs, TheGardenFairy



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Footman Mingyu, Happy Ending, Hate to Love, Journey to find one's self, Junhao slow burn, Kinda, Knight Junhui, Knight Wonwoo, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Meanie love at first sight, Medieval AU, Pirates, Prince Minghao, Royalty, Servants, other idols appear, side jihancheol - Freeform, side soonhoon, side verkwan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 244,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salty_kisses_n_winter_hugs/pseuds/Salty_kisses_n_winter_hugs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGardenFairy/pseuds/TheGardenFairy
Summary: Sometimes, the hardest decisions make for the wisest ones. Sometimes, the roughest journeys are those that make a difference.Mingyu and Wonwoo accidentally made everyone start such a journey, and Minghao hadn't been prepared for it.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 123
Kudos: 196





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Garden Fairy here :D
> 
> Welcome to this huge ass medieval au that we've been working on for two years now! It is complete, but we're still editing the chapters so we don't know exactly how many there are. It really is big tho.
> 
> Meanie and Junhao are both main ships here, but Junhao will take /a lot/ more time to happen. 
> 
> We will be updating this every seven days. Well, SkWh will be updating lol, I'm leaving all the author notes and some clarifications that will be needed later on to her. I'll still be here though to read any comments you might want to leave :D You can also find me on twitter @geiameleneeleni <3
> 
> This is really happening yeeeeeeeee

If you ever happen to come across Gisa, the Northeast Kingdom of what is now known to be South Korea, you will be met with a great variety of places to visit.

There are vast, green plains where flowers with white and purple petals bloom, forests with tall pine trees that are full of life, lakes with crystal warm waters and, of course, the clear blue sea whose depths keep scandalous secrets, not meant for humanity.

Overlooking the sea there is an old town made of stone, with arches that bow symmetrically above hidden pebbled streets. It is surrounded by big, thick walls, made to protect it from enemy’s attacks during great wars. The wall's entrance is atop of a hill, built tall with majestic sculptures surrounding it. Vines with deep rose flower bloom around its frame, giving life to its cold stony surface.

To reach it, you have to cross the crescent bridge, that stretches over a flowing river, with waters azure and clear like a mirror on a wall. When you arrive at the threshold, push your way through the heavy, wooden doors and you will find yourself walking on a big street that leads towards the town. Sycamore trees will greed you, waving their branches along the wind as they welcome you inside the walls. Ahead of you there is one more gate. Pass through it and you would come face to face with the town’s majestic palace.

During the old days, this place was ruled by mighty kings and beautiful queens, dynasties that lasted longer than centuries.

When you see the castle, go straight and you'll be on the top of the town’s main road; _The Street of the Knights_. Follow this road but be careful not to get lost on its beauty as the cobbled-made alleys and smaller roads, tend to capture the visitors eye, making them stray and lose their way.

At your sides will stand buildings, that used to be pubs and inns. Every single one of them are made by granite and stone, materials that, during the old times, came directly from the mines outside of the town. Their coarse walls glint under the rays of the sun, giving you the false image of having precious stones placed on them. The door and window frames are decorated with beautiful designs; marble shields and crosses curved around them. Small statues stand imposing at the corners of each arch, keeping an eye on the passerby that walk beneath.

Towards the end of this magnificent cobbled road, at your right hand, you will meet an old building which has the same architectural structure as the castle. It's the Knight’s old hospital, a much-needed building, especially after the last war that had left the kingdom practically in ruins.

The Street of the Knights, eventually, leads to a big vertical street, starting from the East side of the town and ending at the West. That would be the Great Market. Back then, it was full of big and small shops filled with merchandises from all over the world. They sold expensive fabrics, such as silk, and hand-made jewelry, with gems that came from every corner of the country and beyond. Some of them provided beauty products for the ladies while others, equipment for hunting for the gentlemen. Furnitures made of wood and leather were displayed behind storefronts and old books were occupying the shops’ selves, waiting patiently for someone to take interest in them.

During those days, these stone made roads, were full of men in shining armor, women in fancy clothing and happy children running around living their life at its fullest. That was the rich part of the town.

But, like in every other Kingdom, there was also the part where the people of the middle and lower classes lived. Smaller houses, less extravagant and decorated, were laying at the outskirts of the town, occupied by merchandisers and fishermen. There were also people that worked at the mines deep in Gisa’s mountains or were merely farmers or graziers. Their lives were a little more complicated and difficult, but they were all dwelling with peace and order with the upper classes.

Keep following the Market’s road and you will, eventually reach the town's wide bay. There you could always find everything regarding sea travels, from small boats full of fishing equipment and large cargo ships, to Gisa's powerful navy fleet. That was also where one of the greatest fishing markets of the country was located. Fish of every kind and size were neatly placed on large stands, their scales glittering against the sun and attracting potential buyers.

The town has been a prosperous paradise once, when it managed to get out of wars and sickness and began to prioritize the well-being of its leaders and citizens.

The most amazing aspect of the picturesque town of Gisa though, is the myriad of unique and mythical stories surrounding this place. Stories about fairies and knights, pirates and dragons. Stories of good and evil, stories about love and duty. The tales have been passed down from generation to generation, almost as precious as the gold and silk the kingdom used to trade for food and supplies.

One of these stories, probably the most unique and well kept, is the story of the third crowned prince, Xu Minghao.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello People!!!
> 
> I'm Salty_kisses_n_winter_hugs, the co-creator of this HUGE Medieval AU.
> 
> Honestly I'm so proud that we have /finally/ reached the point that we can upload this fanfic.   
> I know that you have already been introduced to my Fairy's amazing writing, so I apologize if my own is not as good. Also, one more heads up; we've started writting this story two years ago *wipes sweat* so we try to edit it as much as we can :')
> 
> As TheGardenFairy already said we will upload every 7 days and I'll be mostly responsible for the schedule. So I'll try my best to be on time.
> 
> I hope you will like our new AU and be prepared for the start of a beautiful and long journey together with us.
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	2. The Promotion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because the prologue is kinda small we are uploading the first chapter too!
> 
> Enjoy~~~

Minghao was leaning against the palace’s first floor’s window and was switching between gazing at the busy and full of townsmen street below, to looking at his friend sweeping the floor of the meeting room they were in.

“So, what did Soonyoung say about that promotion they wanted to give you?” he said absentmindedly.

Mingyu looked up at him with an annoyed expression.

“ _Sorry Mingyu-ssi you will have to wait a little bit more_.” He answered sarcastically with a high-pitched voice, trying to mimic the palace’s steward.

Minghao smiled amusedly. He could picture the older saying those exact words. Then again, he could also picture his friend following Soonyoung around and asking him every ten minutes about the infamous promotion.

“I hope you get it soon. I mean, won’t it be much better cleaning the upper rooms overlooking the grounds that knights roam all day? It certainly gives you something to look at.”

“Something to look at huh?” Mingyu repeated the words with a hint of shyness, a blush creeping up his neck.

Minghao laughed at his friend’s rapidly reddening face. It was so easy to rile Mingyu up.

“Don’t be shy now Gyu. We wouldn’t want Soonyoung to suspect you are not fitting for the position and give it to someone else.”

Mingyu’s cheeks became even redder at Minghao’s statement. Mingyu was Minghao’s best friend. The prince knew pretty much everything about him. He could read his face so easily, understanding from miles away what bothered him. To Minghao, Mingyu was an open book, making it easy for the prince to understand his weakness. Thus, his words were often teasing.

But Mingyu chose to ignore it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m perfectly capable of that promotion.” He answered, sweeping a little harder than the smooth floor required him to.

Minghao chuckled. Honestly, it was so much fun riling him up.

“I don’t doubt you are, but that floor you are trying to murder right now might have a different opinion.” He said and got up to follow his friend to the next room. “So what do you want to do after you finish your duties? Shall I get Chan and go to the town?”

“Hm the town sounds like a good idea.” Mingyu replied, loosening up a little, clearly thankful the teasing stopped. For now, at least. “But doesn’t Chan have laundry today?”

“Ah I totally forgot about that... well, I will go ask him anyway. How long until you finish here?” Minghao questioned turning to leave the room.

Mingyu sighed. “A couple more minutes, I presume.” He said, putting one of his hands on his waist as he faced the Prince. “Find Chan and ask him about his laundry duty. If he is free, take him and we will meet at the palace’s entrance in 15 minutes. If he isn’t though come back here and we will leave together when we are all done.”

“Okay then, master second footman.” Minghao snickered, earning himself an arched eyebrow by his friend. “I’ll meet you later.” He waved and exited the room.

Minghao walked through the long-marbled corridor leaving Mingyu behind to finish the cleaning of the meeting room. The laundry room was located at the basement of the castle, so the Prince made his way towards the grand staircase at the end of the hall. He casually peeked inside the few rooms he passed on his way, greeting some maids and servants with a small smile.

Minghao reached the big staircase with the red carpet and rushed down. On his way to the ground floor he waved at a few stable boys, that were passing through the ground floor fulfilling their jobs. _Busy day_ , he thought as he reached the end of the stairs. Loud voices filled his ears when he passed outside the kitchen, with Seokjin’s, the palace’s royal chef, being the loudest. He was whining to his maid about some ingredients he was missing, making her scribble them down on a piece of paper. Poor woman, she needed nerves of steel to keep up with Seokjin’s constant mumbling about food.

Minghao took a sharp turn towards the underside of the grand staircase, where the smaller and steeper stairs that lead to the dark basement were located. He climbed them down, careful not to fall over them in his rush. During his childhood, he often came out of that basement with bruises and twisted bones because of those stairs, so he always paid them extra mind.

When he arrived outside the laundry room, he crinkled his nose at the sight of the large door. Carefully, and with a significant amount of effort, he pushed it open and peered inside the room.

“Channie? Are you here?” he asked but he was met with silence. “Huh, weird...” he said, fully entering the room, with the door closing behind him. “Chan? Where are you?” his voice bounced inside the wet walls. Yet again, no reply. Clearly there was no one in the room.

Minghao sighed and turned around, heading back outside so he could resume his search for the younger. But before he could take the handle in his hand, the door flew open, making him yelp in surprise as he collided with another body. Minghao fell on his butt, groaning loudly as he lifted his gaze to see what exactly happened. At the other side of the door frame, on the floor, there was Chan, a basket full of dirty clothes fallen on top of him.

“Hyung! Oh my God! You scared the death out of me!” Chan exclaimed as soon as their eyes met. He clutched his chest where his heart was, heaving a sigh. “Wh-what are you even doing down here?” he asked standing back on his feet, before he started picking the clothes from the floor.

“Sorry.” Minghao said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. He stood up and dusted his pants, helping the younger with a couple of socks that had flew a little further away from the impact. “Actually, I came to ask you something. Can you leave the laundry here? I kinda need you to escort me and Mingyu at the town.”

Chan’s face fell a little. “I’m sorry hyung but that can’t happen. If I don’t do the laundry, Soonyoung hyung is going to kill me.” The valet said, shivering upon the thought of the steward finding out that he left his job unfinished so he could go on a walk.

“But I can come to you when I finish. It’s not that much anyway. It won’t take me more than half an hour... no twenty minutes. Promise!” he smiled widely at the prince.

“Alright then. But do it as quickly as possible. I agreed with Mingyu on meeting him in a few minutes at the gates.” Minghao informed the young valet.

“Yes sir.” Chan laughed, and move further in the room to start wetting the clothes.

“I’ll go ahead, alright? Find us there.” Minghao waved goodbye and left the boy to his work.

Before going to find Mingyu, the prince climbed the carpeted stairs once again, heading to his room at the second floor. He could feel wet stamp since his fall earlier, so he needed a clean pair of pants.

Normally, it was Chan’s job to help him get dressed, but Minghao always had a great sense of fashion so he could make do. He entered the closet room, through the dark blue door and headed towards his wardrobe. The furniture was made from oak wood and it was big enough to fit in at least three whole merchandise of clothes. Minghao slammed its doors wide open and sat on the couch opposite, humming lightly as he closely examined the clothes.

Among the many formal attires he owned for special circumstances, like weddings and national anniversaries, there were some more simple, everyday clothes, made for days just like these. He couldn’t wear anything extravagant or extremely expensive, as the goal was to blend in with the crowd. With that thought in mind, he rejected some of his favorite capes and dress shirts. The rich people of their town might be wearing expensive outfits now, but they still couldn’t match the royal family’s clothes.

After a long contemplating, the prince ended up picking a light blue, long buttoned up shirt, that was loosely fit around his shoulders. Black breeches hugged his slim legs, followed by a pair of tall boots. Minghao tucked the front of the shirt in and rolled his sleeves up to his forearms, adding a leather belt around his waist, to spice up the outfit. He finished his look with a dark purple cape, falling nicely on top of his thin frame. He then took a glance at the big, golden-rimmed mirror on the wall, humming lightly.

After deciding that he looked good enough he headed to the room’s personal bathroom, washed his face and teeth at the white marble basin, and then exited again, walking towards his dressing table. He brushed his jet-black hair gently, focusing more on his bangs, and put on his cologne. Finally, he slipped two silver rings around his fingers and placed a pair of matching cribs on both ears.

Minghao looked at himself at the dressing table’s mirror and frowned at his reflection. He glanced at the big clock beside the door and inhaled sharply. He was _late_. It then hit him that he was also supposed to inform General Jihoon about this outing, so he could assign some guards for them. Well, poor Mingyu would definitely have to wait a while.

The prince got out of his room to the main corridor in search for the general. He was sure that he would find him at his office, so he made a beeline to the courtyard where the building with the army’s offices was located.

Reaching there, he entered through the creaking door and paced quickly down the hallway, until he found himself outside Jihoon’s office. He swallowed hard. It was always difficult for him to deal with the general. He was a little scary even if his petite appearance didn’t show it. Minghao sighed softly and knocked lightly on the wooden door.

“Who is it?” a dry voice replied, muffled by the wooden surface between them.

“It’s me.” Minghao answered, glad that his voice didn’t betray him.

“You may come inside, my prince.” Jihoon said with a flat tone.

Minghao entered shyly. His position was definitely higher than general’s, but that didn’t stop the uncomfortable feeling he felt every time Jihoon met his eyes.

“Good morning general Jihoon.” Minghao said after closing the door behind him.

The general lifted his small eyes from his paperwork and looked straight at the young prince. “Good morning, your highness.” He said and bowed his head a little “What is it you want today?” he asked.

The tone of his voice betrayed that something was bothering the general. Yet again, when did his voice sound different? Minghao swallowed the lump in his throat and proceeded to ask his question.

“I would like to take a walk in the town with Chan and Mingyu. So I was wondering if I could take one or two of your guards to accompany us.” He said and released a breath that he didn’t know he was holding.

The general sighed and looked down at his papers again.

“Have you finished your studies for today?” he said, pursing his lips.

Minghao groaned. Of course he would ask about the studies. When didn’t he?

Jihoon wasn’t responsible about the young prince in any way, Minghao was aware of that. But the general knew him practically his whole life. It seemed that sometimes, the mighty general couldn’t help but be a little concerned about him.

“Yes, sir. I finished a couple of hours ago.” Minghao answered back.

“Then I will have Jinhwan escort you.” He said, voice a pinch lighter than before.

“Thank you, sir.” He answered calmly and waited.

Jihoon called a servant to go fetch the escort while he stayed with Minghao, the room plunging into silence. Thankfully, the small guard didn’t take long to appear, bowing deeply as he greeted both his general and the prince.

“Escort prince Minghao in his walk at the town. Report back here when you return. That is all.” Jihoon said quickly, barely sparing poor Jinhwan a glance.

Minghao sighed. The general was scary and tough to handle. Everyone could admit that. But there was one time that Minghao saw another side of him.

He had been young, around the age of 10 or 12 when one night he couldn’t sleep. So, he had decided to sneak out of his room and take a walk around the palace. After a couple of minutes of roaming through the floors he found himself on a part of the castle that he didn’t visit often. It was a small room at the back of the basement where they kept the decoration and the stuff that they were using on celebrations. He was led there by a beautiful melody that echoed through the thick walls of the castle. It was barely audible but Minghao picked it up, following it until he reached the door of that small room.

He opened it slowly, out of curiosity, and took a small glance inside. And there he saw him. General Jihoon was playing the old piano that used to decorate the ballroom, but was replaced by a new one a couple of years ago. His expression was permanently curved in Minghao’s memory. Because right then, in that small room, the intimidating general was crying.

Back to the present, Minghao gave one last look to the general, bowed a little and waved at Jinhwan to follow him outside.

“Huff, I’m so late, Mingyu is going to strangle me.” He exclaimed as he hurried down the hall, the guard trailing behind him.

Finally, he reached the gates of the castle that led to the main road, where Mingyu and, surprisingly Chan, were waiting for him.

“Well, well, look who decided to join us.” Mingyu said sarcastically tapping his foot on the ground with his arms folded in front of his chest.

Chan smiled tiredly at Minghao but didn’t say anything.

“Sorry, but I had to stop by General Jihoon’s office. We need guards, remember?” the prince said pointing at Jinhwan. “I’m sure you can recall the last time we went out without an escort.” He smirked, watching his friend’s expression shifting.

“Please don’t remind me.” Mingyu said making a face of horror.

It had been the first and only time that they had gone out unescorted and without informing the general. When the king found out, the results weren’t the most pleasant for the young prince and the two servants, as they were forced to stay separated for the following month, their chores and studies doubled.

Minghao smiled at his friends. “Then I accept no complaining.”

“Nice clothes by the way hyung, you weren’t wearing them when you came to get me, were you?” Chan said politely, but his eyes were glinting knowingly.

Minghao blinked at the statement, amusedly annoyed by the fact that the young valet was exposing him like that. So what if he took a little more time picking clothes? He was the prince, he had to look good outside of the castle.

“Alright. Now that we cleared that up and we’ve got the escort, shall we go your highness?” Mingyu teased, showing the way with his hands as he bowed.

“Of course my loyal subject, lead the way.” Minghao teased back and Chan chuckled.

The prince exited the palace’s entrance alongside Mingyu and Chan, with Jinhwan follow them. They turned left, finding themselves on the top of the town’s main road. They continued going straight, strolling around lazily through the hustle and bustle.

“So... what do you wish to see today your highness?” Mingyu asked the prince. It was an unspoken rule that even him, who knew Minghao since practically forever, should address him formally outside the palace.

“Hmm...” Minghao thought about it, while looking around. “Let’s just go to the market. Unless there was something else you two wanted to do?” he whispered the last part, as the people in the street had already begun noticing them.

“The market sounds good to me. What about you Channie, any specific place you would like to go?” the footman asked facing the valet.

“Um no, no, the market it is!” the boy replied, smiling.

“Then follow me, my faithful companions.” Minghao moved ahead making a sign with his hand, Jinhwan struggling to keep up as the prince sped up.

The three friends continued their way towards the market. The town’s main road, or The Street of the Knights, was the perfect place for a lover of beauty to walk through. The buildings around it were all decorated with so much detail. There were curves around the windows and door frames with geometric shapes at their lower and upper parts. Some of them also had carved shields above their door while others had a few small statues on their balconies.

The thing they all had in common though, was the flowerpots. You could see at least one on every single building, whether that was a house or a tavern or even an inn. All the pots were different; a rich variety of flowers and foliage, offering the street colour and fragrance.

After ten minutes they reached the end of the main road, arriving at the commercial street, where all the town’s shops were located. As always, it was filled with people walking around, shopping or merely looking through the products.

“And I was thinking that we would go on a peaceful walk.” Mingyu whined upon seeing the buzzy street.

“Stop whining. If you wanted to be alone, we should have stayed at the castle.” Minghao mocked his friend.

The truth was that he wasn’t really interested in being around so many people himself either. He was a prince after all, he had an image to maintain. Who knew how many people would approach their little group just to talk to him? He frowned a little at the thought but kept on going towards the shops.

“I think I need a new belt. I’ve been wearing this one to town visits for a couple of months now.” Minghao finally said, looking at his friends.

“Oh, I know a good shop that sells leather products.” Chan piped up. “It’s just around this-“

“ _Kim Mingyu, Lee Chan!_ ” a strong male voice echoed behind them, making both Chan and Mingyu freeze on their spot.

“S-Soo-Soonyoung hyung?” Chan breathed.

Minghao stifled a laugh as he watched his friends’ face slowly turn white. Well, maybe being a prince wasn’t so bad, if it meant the hyper steward couldn’t yell at him in public. And even if Mingyu sent him a begging look to defend them against Soonyoung, he could easily pretend he didn’t notice it.

“Good afternoon hyun- err Soonyoung-ssi.” Minghao said with a pleasant grin on his face.

“Good evening your highness.” The steward said bowing and smiling at the sight of the young prince. His face though changed completely as he gazed upon the two younger servants. “I believe, since you are here on a walk and not in the palace’s basement, that your jobs are already finished.” He said, arching a strict eyebrow.

Soonyoung was the palace’s House Steward. He was responsible for all purchasing, hiring, firing and paying the servant staff. He would not be considered a servant, but a professional man like a lawyer.  
So, his rank was a lot higher than any other servant in the palace. Most of the time he was a lovely young man with a loud laugh and a big, flashing smile that made his eyes form into slits. But when it came to his job, his character was the complete opposite.

“Yes sir!” Chan said in a small but confident voice, shyly looking at the older man.

“Plus, I personally asked them to accompany me to this walk, so it’s okay, right hyung?” Minghao decided to step in, even if that meant Soonyoung secretly giving him the evil eye.

As expected, Soonyoung eyed the prince a little skeptical. The steward was the one in charge of those two, yes. But Minghao could do basically whatever he wanted. He was the prince after all.

“Of course, my prince.” Soonyoung sighed. “But please be considerate about my place towards your father. You know very well how his majesty reacts if something doesn’t go according to our schedule.” He reminded the prince. “Also, there is that promotion that Mingyu here is craving to get. I wouldn’t like it if something went wrong and he couldn’t obtain it.” The steward said, smiling a little at the footman.

“You’re right sir. I wouldn’t want that either.” Mingyu said shyly.

Truthfully talking, all three of them could understand where Soonyoung was coming from. Thus, they didn’t argue further with him, choosing to nod in agreement instead.

“So now that this is settled, Soonyoung-ssi, what brings you into town?” Minghao said, linking their elbows and resuming his walk. He ignored whatever passerby’s weird glances. They should know by now that Xu Minghao was friends with some of his service staff, especially the high-ranking ones.

“Grocery shopping.” Soonyoung said unamused.

“But hyung, you hate grocery shopping.” Mingyu said furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yes Mingyu... I know I do. But aren’t you all forgetting something?” Soonyoung continued, looking between the Prince and his two friends.

Chan blinked his eyes looking at Minghao who shrugged and turned to the steward. “We are?” he said.

Soonyoung sighed, loudly this time. “In a couple of weeks there’s a great celebration. Something really important.” He said, meeting three pair of eyes full of curiosity.

“Unbelievable! It’s your birthday your majesty!” Soonyoung gave up throwing his hand in the air. “That’s why I’m personally out here. Or else I would have sent someone to buy the things we need.” He huffed.

“Oh but of course how could we forget!” Chan exclaimed a huge smile on his face, before anyone else could react. “Hey... we should use this opportunity to buy Minghao his present!” he continued enthusiastically but quickly clamped his hands over his mouth. “I mean the Prince. His Majesty. His Highness!” he waved his hands up and down, trying to fix his mistake and a few passers-by chuckled.

Minghao on the other hand barely smiled at the valet’s crisis. Another year, another birthday, another celebration just to please this kingdom’s people. Not that he was complaining, it just didn’t feel special anymore. But watching Chan’s excited face, he realized he loved his friends too much to let them find out about it and start worrying, so he quickly put a smile on.

“Channie!” Mingyu hissed. “Keep your voice down, will you?”

“I’m sorry!” the valet whisper-shouted and hesitantly looked at Soonyoung expecting to be yelled at.

Minghao chuckled. It seemed like nobody was paying attention to him.

The steward just sighed for the third time since he met with the trio. “What will I do with you?” he said instead, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“How about giving Mingyu that promotion he has been talking my ear off about?” Minghao joked poking his best friend at the ribs.

Mingyu looked at Soonyoung with sparkling eyes. Kim Mingyu was a fairly tall young man, handsome with broad shoulders and sharp jawline. But at times like these he looked more like an oversized puppy, eager and overexcited.

“Ah, alright!” Soonyoung sighed. Apparently, that promotion had started giving him a headache. “Just come to my office in the afternoon and we will talk about it okay?”

Mingyu’s face lit up and he started bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Hyung! Thank you so much!” he said a little too loud.

“We are the ones who should thank Soonyoung hyung.” Chan laughed before Minghao shushed them.

“Belt shop! Are you coming with us Soonyoung-ssi?” he exclaimed, quirking an eyebrow at the steward.

“I would love to, your majesty but... I have some shopping of my own to do.” He said, taking out a long piece of paper. A shopping list. “And Seokjin hyung will kill me if I forget his spices again.” The steward shivered.

“I understand. After all we need Seokjin hyung’s cooking in order to survive this cruel world. “ Minghao said dramatically, but not even he could say anything bad about the royal cook’s talent with food.

“Bye, bye hyung.” Chan added a little dejectedly. “Be careful to get the right spices this time, I don’t want you to die.” He pouted.

“I will don’t worry. Your hyung is always careful with things like these.” Soonyoung said smiling wide at the valet. Weaknesses were always weaknesses. And for Soonyoung, Channie was the biggest.

“So, until next time... goodbye my prince, goodbye my little ducklings.” He joked and turned around to continue his chase for the spices.

Minghao waved at the steward and he continued down the stoned road, his three companions tugging behind him.

~*~

After a few minutes, when they finally reached the shop, Mingyu and Chan were pulled inside it immediately by a determined prince.

The place was bigger than Mingyu had expected. It was a two-storey building made of granite and stone. Wooden varnished floor laid beneath their feet as two sets of stairs stretched towards the upper floor.

“My prince.” The owner of the shop smiled and bowed deeply. “It’s an honor to have you here. How may I assist you?”

“Good morning. I am looking for a belt. A simple one, nothing too extravagant.” Minghao answered politely.

Mingyu’s eyes roamed around the displayed products. There were furniture made of leather and wood, perched up on the walls or packed at the corners of the shop. Fabrics and clothes hanged neatly from hooks and hangers, catching the eye of every passerby.

“Lovely! They just brought me new merchandise with the latest designs, directly from the West.” The shop owner exclaimed, bringing Mingyu’s eyes back to him.

The middle-aged man opened one big chest, searching for the pieces of clothing he had promised. “It’s the best leather. High quality, soft to the touch, indestructible.” He continued his speech, placing some belts in front of the prince.

Minghao leaned over the various belts to examine them, humming thoughtfully. Meanwhile Mingyu was nudged by Chan and pointed at some jewelry at the upper semi-floor.

“Minghao hyung wears earrings right hyung?” he whispered. “And his birthday is coming up soon. What do you think?”

“I think that you have a pretty good idea Channie.” Mingyu smiled at the suggestion. “Let’s take a look, shall we?” he said and shuffled towards the stairs, climbing them quietly.

Chan’s chest swelled with pride. “I always have great ideas. Jinhwan hyung can you cover for us?” he asked the silent guard whose eyes opened wide, but he nodded anyway.

As soon as Mingyu and Chan reached the last step of the stairs, they started searching through the shelves with the jewelry. They didn’t have much time before Minghao made up his mind about his new belt, so they quickly tried to find the perfect pair of earrings that would fit their friend.

“Something simple, not too extravagant.” Mingyu said as his eyes alternated between the various designs.

“And most importantly something we can afford.” Chan whispered, picking one price tag after the other.

The thing was, Minghao was the prince. He could get anything he wanted anytime. So, buying him a present that he liked was a challenge every year. It didn’t matter how expensive or how pretty the earrings were. They had to have a special meaning, something between Minghao and them, something that not just any random nobleman would get him at the big celebration. 

“So, any ideas hyung?” Chan asked, around a sigh.

Mingyu hummed scratching his chin. All the earrings looked fantastic. But they were talking about Xu Minghao here. His style was something that no other in the whole kingdom had. So naturally they would have to do much thinking until they came to a conclusion.

“What about this one?” Mingyu said pointing a golden pair of cribs.

“I don’t know, I don’t think gold suits him...” Chan said thoughtfully, eyes continuing dancing around the shelves.

His face lit up a couple of seconds later. “Minghao hyung once said that he wanted to get out of this town, visit the plains and the forests. Should we get him those?” he said pointing at a pair of earrings, sitting inside a velvet box, at the back of a long self.

They were small, just a little stone on each ear. Beautiful, emerald-green in color; changing shades when the rays of the sun hit them.

“It could symbolize the nature he always wanted to be part of. Let’s wish him to visit the countryside with the people he loves this year.” Chan voiced, lips curling in a warm grin.

“Channie, that’s the greatest idea that you’ve ever had.” Mingyu said enthusiastically, his own smile reaching his ears. “I’m so proud of you. Yeah let’s do it... let’s buy these-“ Mingyu’s phrase died in his throat upon seeing the price that the meaningful earrings had; 500 silver coins. His pouch was screaming. It was a small painful scream, lingering around his ear shell.

But it was his best friend’s birthday present. Minghao was finally reaching the age of 20, he would become an adult. It was a very special day. Plus, Chan seemed so happy about it. So Mingyu grabbed the pair quickly before the valet could see the price and headed downstairs from the second set of stairs.

“Hyung wait a second!” Chan whisper-screamed. “How much does this cost, we can share?”

That was the moment that Minghao managed to find them, Jinhwan anxiously trailing behind him. The prince caught the valet by the sleeve before he managed to get to Mingyu.

“There you are! Where did you go?” Mingyu heard him asking.

“Uh just looking around your highness...” Chan answered him as politely as he could because the shop owner, that had also followed the prince, was looking at them strangely.

“Did you find any belt you like?” he added trying to distract Minghao by guiding him back to the belt display and giving Mingyu the chance to pay.

“Yeah I guess.” The prince voiced uncertainly. “See, I found this one.” He said pointing at the red belt. “I never had such a color before. It’s pretty isn’t it?”

“It’s perfect your highness... Your style doesn’t stop surprising me.” Chan said sweetly, still trying to cover for Mingyu.

Meanwhile, the footman took advantage of Chan’s distraction, finishing up with the gift purchase. He gave the right amount of coins to the shopkeeper’s employee, when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

“What do you think Mingyu?” the prince behind him asked him.

“Oh! Y-your highness… That’s erm a great choice! Stylish as always.” Mingyu stuttered with a stupid grin.

Minghao looked at him weirdly, but he didn’t say anything. He took one more glance at the belt on his hand and lift his head to face the shop owner. “Alright then I think it’s settled. Can I pay for this?” Minghao asked.

Mingyu stifled a relived sigh.

“Of course, your highness.” The shopkeeper said and lead him and his company to the back of the shop towards the counter.

“Would you like to look at anything else your majesty? The pirates may have made the trades and transfers a little harder, but we can still supply any clothing the royal family needs.” The shopkeeper offered.

“No, it’s okay, just the belt for today... thank you very much.” Minghao spoke, handing the money to the owner of the shop.

“Any time at your service, your majesty.” The shopkeeper bowed giving Minghao the belt.

Minghao nodded, while Mingyu and Chan bowed back and they made their way to the street outside, the guard following quietly.

~*~

“So where does his royalty want to go now?” Chan said with fake politeness, as soon as they were back on the market street.

“Uh I got what I wanted I guess...” Minghao scratched his hair while looking around. “Anything else you want to do?”

The two servants looked at each other thinking.

“I believe we should get back your majesty. It’s almost time for lunch.” Mingyu said calmly.

“Oh my God. I totally forgot that!” Chan piped up.” Seokjin hyung will hang me from the ballroom’s ceiling if he discovers I’m out at this hour!” he continued making the same grimace as Soonyoung did when they were talking about the palace’s chef.

Minghao sighed. He wasn’t really hungry. What he truly desired was to keep walking and walking, even going outside of the commercial street. He wanted to go to the bay, see the ocean, visit the pubs.

He could only dream about it though. He was no longer a little kid who could go anywhere his heart wished with a small group of guards running behind him. He had responsibilities now. And that included heading back to the castle, eating lunch with the King, and preparing for the villagers’ meeting he was supposed to attend.

At least he had a new belt.

“Let’s return then.” He said trying to hide the bitterness in his voice.

The company took the same road, heading back slowly. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The weather was warm and nice, even though it was mid-October. It was really pity that they couldn’t stay outside the castle’s walls for a little more.

When they finally reached the palace’s main gate, they were met with something highly unusual. There was a big commotion going on. Soldiers were running around the courtyard carrying things. Some of them were sweeping while others were cleaning the stables. General Jihoon was in the center running his hands through his short, black hair anxiously, while yelling orders.

Immediately Minghao was on alert.

“What happened?!” he said sternly, walking towards the general, all formalities forgotten.

“Oh, your majesty. You’re back early I see.” Jungkook, one of the youngest soldiers said as he approached their small group of three, stopping Minghao on his tracks.

Minghao and Jungkook were close when they were young. The two of them together with Mingyu and a couple of other kids had formed a little company back then. But they grew apart when Kookie, the nickname Jungkook had obtain back then, entered the army. Now they saw each other rarely. But every time they did, it was like nothing had changed between them.

“Though… you seem a little worried my prince. What’s wrong?” his childhood friend said.

“I am worried Kookie yes! Can you please tell me what the hell is going on here? Why our soldiers are running around like there is a fire somewhere? And for the love of God why is Jihoon yelling like crazy?” Minghao said as calmly as he could manage.

“There is a new addition of soldiers coming here in less than four hours, and we’re try to make the place look a little presentable.” Jungkook replied sighing. “And general is at his limits because they forgot to inform him sooner.”

“ _I told you on the other side!”_ Jihoon’s voice cut through the soldier’s speech.

“That’s why he is going nuts.” Jungkook laughed softly.

Minghao sighed. That sounded like general Jihoon alright.

“Okay then, I’m leaving you to it. I will be in my room if anyone needs me before lunch.” He said and left, waving goodbye at Chan and Mingyu, who had approached Jungkook, starting a conversation.

“Jungkook can you stop wasting your time?! We are on a schedule here! And Jinhwan at last you’re here! Go immediately at the stables, you’re needed there!” Jihoon started barking orders. “Mingyu, Chan report back to the kitchen. Seokjin has orders for you given by Soonyoung. Come on!! Step it up!!”

Minghao left the courtyard with general’s voice fading in his ears. He climbed the grand staircase quietly, his head buzzing with so many thoughts. Heading to his room Minghao decided he wasn’t hungry one bit, so he entered his sleeping chamber and locked the door behind him. He lay on his bed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

He couldn’t help but wonder how his life would be if he wasn’t a prince, if he wasn’t born in a royal family. He would be free. Alone without servants doing him favors. Without his father bossing him around. Just he and his friends living a peaceful life as equals.

As those thoughts ran around his mind, Minghao drifted off to sleep. That evening the prince dreamed about himself out of the walls, living a simple life without responsibilities and concerns.

~*~

If Mingyu has learned one thing from his life in the palace, was that they should always, no matter what, listen to Soonyoung when it came to business. Their life could literally depend on it. But even if the steward usually threatened them into obeying him, they would probably be fine if they had a descent reason for not following his orders.

The only time their life was in actual danger was when General Jihoon appeared out of nowhere and started ordering them around. One of the most terrible moments in life was when both men asked them to do the same task and they failed. Mingyu had luckily never been in the situation, but Chan had, and if it wasn't for Soonyoung's soft spot for him, Mingyu would probably be leaving flowers at his friend's grave by now.

Alas, the worst situation they could find themselves in, was when these two men gave them contradicting orders. The only chance they had of survival then, was begging the prince to give them orders of his own, so they could ignore the mess they were in. Thank God Minghao happened to be Mingyu’s best friend.

Even if that afternoon the prince didn't show up for lunch and had locked himself in his room, emerging only for that meeting of his, Mingyu knew he could always count on him. He was blessed to have a friend like him.

These were the thoughts that accompanied him as he made his way to Soonyoung's office. He was finally going to get that promotion. His parents would be so proud of him. He would finally be able to officially get in the elite circle of the palace’s workers, even Chan had made it before him. But there he was now, ready to prove to everyone that he was a capable young man. With a huge a smile on his face, he walked happily in the long corridor.

He quickly reached Soonyoung's office, at the first floor, and knocked the metallic handle on the door's wooden surface. Right away, the sound of Soonyoung's voice echoed through the door.

"It's open." he yelled.

Taking a deep breath Mingyu shallowed all his anxiety and made his way into the office, towards his new place.

"Well, well, if it isn't my first-to-be footman." Soonyoung smiled at him. "Sit down Mingyu." he gestured at a chair next to the wall.

Mingyu eagerly sat in front of his boss and crossed his arms on his lap. Soonyoung laughed.

"Will you stop being so nervous? The only change in this promotion is the money and status. You are fully capable of being a first footman. And you know the unofficial rules for the extra work high ranking servants get. You will be cleaning the upper rooms." the steward said briefly. "Now look at me Mingyu." added Soonyoung on a more serious tone.

Mingyu lifted his head and locked eyes with him. Soonyoung rarely made serious conversation without having his typical smile on. Those few times though were a stark reminder to his high position amongst the castle. His serious face was truly an awkward and frightening sight.

"I know I am not that much older than you and this will probably sound weird, but watching you grow up I have to say I am really proud of you Mingyu. No matter how much I yell and nag at you, I want you to know that I just want what's best for you. And now it is finally your time to show how much you have grown. You are an adult, and furthermore you are going to be a first footman. I expect you to take this role very seriously. You are no longer a kid, and I cannot protect you if you mess up. I don't want to burden you more than needed, but I need you to realize how important is the job you are taking. You will be public figure from now on, people will know you, they will talk about you. I just want to make sure you are ready for this. So, are you?" he asked, his eyes staring at Mingyu intensely.

Mingyu's chest swelled with pride. It was the first time he had heard those words coming from Soonyoung. Despite the way they were delivered, they made his motivation bigger. He swore to himself that he would take this promotion seriously and make Soonyoung proud. So Mingyu took a deep, determined breath and full of confidence he answered. "Yes sir!"

Soonyoung nodded satisfied. "Okay then. Kim Mingyu you have proved yourself worthy of the task. As the steward of the palace, I name you first footman. May you honour that title and wear it with pride and responsibility. You shall be given a briefing of your duties tonight." Soonyoung said and then cracked a smile. "Tomorrow morning I expect you be sweeping the second floor instead of the first." he winked at the tall boy.

Mingyu was over the moon. He tried to fight back another smile as he stood up ready to leave Soonyoung's office, carrying his new title. "Thank you, hyung!" he said happily and bowed at his superior.

He also waved at him afterwards, less formally, because apart from his superior, Soonyoung was also his friend. He headed back to the first floor so he could finish his last duties for the day, his last duties as a second footman.

Mingyu had rarely been so energized as he swept the lounge’s floor. The job he had been prepared to take on his entire life was right in front of him. He could finally realize the dreams of his parents and serve alongside the royal family.

Every time he thought of the sacrifices his parents have made for him... It was a tough decision to send their eldest son away to the palace to pursue a better life while they wasted away at the country's fields. It had been such a hard separation. He hadn’t wanted to leave the countryside. He had only been a five-year-old boy who had suddenly been made to leave his home and say goodbye to his parents. It was a hard journey of discipline and responsibilities, and sometimes he wasn't sure if the right choice had been made.

Well, right now it definitely felt like it, Mingyu smiled as he crouched down to reach a hidden spot near the corner of the wall.

Suddenly, Mingyu heard a commotion from outside the walls of the room. The sound of horse’s hooves brought Mingyu’s attention to the front side of the castle. He quickly ran towards the nearest window that had a view on the courtyard. Mingyu's eyes widened slightly at the sight in front of him. From the palace’s main gate entered a group of soldiers riding their horses. They were at least 20, and they were all wearing armours that shined when the rays of the setting sun hit them. It was a brilliant, radiant sight. Mingyu’s eyes trailed to their swords that were strapped around their waists, to their helmets that were worn with pride. As if Mingyu’s day could not get any better.

He was so focused on the entrance of the knights, that he almost screamed when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Hyung! You got it?! You got the promotion?!" a very excited Chan greeted him, distracting him enough that the soldiers slipped out of Mingyu's sight.

"Chan!" Mingyu gasped, clutching his chest. "How many times do I have to tell you!? Stop sneaking up on me!" he whined.

"Sorry... But you got it, didn't you hyung?"

Mingyu sighed and sent him a disappointed look.

Chan's eyed widened.

"Oh... don't tell me you... I am so sorry! It's okay! You can try again in a few-"

"Of course I took it Channie!" Mingyu laughed at the other's panicked face. "Did you ever have a doubt?" he continued, flashing him a big smile.

"Hyung!" Chan whined, lightly slapping the other boy's shoulder "Congratulations! I mean, not that I was surprised you took it, you were literally born for this position. I'm so happy for you!" Chan said proudly. "Does Minghao-hyung know?"

"Well I haven't seen him yet so... no he doesn't know it." the taller answered "I was waiting till I've finished all of my duties so I could find him and tell him." he continued.

"Did he lock himself in his room again? Did he get any dinner? I should probably check up on him..." the young valet mumbled. "Before I go though, what were you looking at the window previously? You seemed so absorbed in it."

Mingyu flushed red. "I wasn't absorbed in anything Channie. Don't be ridiculous..." he said and looked again outside the window. The knights were long gone by now. Mingyu wondered if he would ever have a chance to see them again...

Chan eyed him weirdly. "Anyway, I'm going to find Minghao-hyung. You should rest for today and get ready for tomorrow's new duties."

"Alright, I think you are right... I will finish with the moping first and then I'll go to my room ok?" he said and ruffled the young's valet dark hair.

Chan cringed a little but accepted the affection.

"Goodnight hyung." he said and walked out of the room.

The day was drifting away smoothly and everything was going according Mingyu's schedule. He had already done some of his duties earlier in the morning, then he escorted Minghao at his daily walk along with Chan and now he was finally ending his chores by moping the first floor.

The only surprising and unexpected twist he came across today was his meeting with Soonyoung. His smile grew even larger at the thought of the duties that were waiting for him tomorrow. Second floor. New view to look out the window. Mingyu shook his head as he returned his tools to their shed. That was a thought for tomorrow. Right now, a long, deep sleep was in order.

That was a really pleasant thought. A good sleep wasn't something frequent in Mingyu's life, so it was a surprising chance that he couldn't wait to grab. Laughing under his breath from his excitement Mingyu closed the kitchen's storage door, after living his cleaning equipment, and made his way towards his room.

~*~

Jihoon was usually a busy man. He was the great general of the army of one of the most powerful kingdoms this land had seen in a while. Furthermore, he was the youngest general that has ever graced the palace. That required a lot of skills, a lot of patience, a lot of courage and very much of his precious time. He absolutely did not have time to deal with matters that weren't life or death situations. Yet here he was, trying to slip past a certain steward without being noticed and escape to his office.

Soonyoung was always in the wrong place at the wrong time, if you asked Jihoon. Well the kitchen definitely wasn't the wrong place for him to be in, considering that his position required it. If somebody wanted to find Soonyoung inside the castle there are two places he would most likely be. His office, in which he passed most of his time, organizing schedules for the palace's stuff or the kitchen. The infuriating thing was that the first and only time Jihoon had to pass from there, it was the time that Soonyoung had decided to spend all his leisure talking to Seokjin.

Jihoon honestly wasn't trying to avoid the young steward. He just happened to feel hungry and he was informed that Seokjin had made a jar of cookies the other day. It was almost night, so most of the people working in the kitchen had already retired. Nobody was supposed to see him. It was a perfect plan. And like every plan he conceived and executed, it was supposed to run smoothly.

If only Soonyoung, the person he really didn't need to see, wasn't holding said jar of cookies in his arms. Fate really hated him that day.

"Well Seokjin-ssi you've outdone yourself this time. These cookies are outstanding!" the young steward said with big happy eyes and a mouth full of cookies.

Seokjin just laughed, but he was obviously feeling proud of himself. Jihoon sighed. Once Soonyoung liked something, there was no way someone could take it from him. He should have just asked a servant to bring him food in his office. It would have been way more simple and easier.

Jihoon glanced one last time at Soonyoung, eating his biscuits happily. His eyes were sparkling in that genuine, excited way. It made him feel weird. Not wanting to think deeply about that feeling, he decided that if the cookies were making Soonyoung happy, then Jihoon wanted some for himself. He would not back down from a mission, just because there was some unexpected interference. He had to get those cookies and he had to remain unseen.

But his impromptu plan to retrieve what he desired was immediately thrown out of the window when he heard a voice calling his name.

"General Jihoon is that you?" Seokjin called.

Great.

Just, great.

He slowly appeared from the corner of the door he was hiding behind.

"Good afternoon Seokjin-ssi." he bowed a little and glanced at the other boy. "Soonyoung." he nodded, not meeting his eyes.

And that was how the esteemed general Lee Jihoon failed his mission. What a disgrace.

Well, maybe looking at Soonyoung's chocked greeting and his attempt to smile with a mouthful of cookies stuffed in his cheeks was worth it. The boy has never resembled a hamster more than this time, Jihoon thought with a slight fondness.

Still, his mission failed. So he put on his grumpy look and addressed Seokjin. "How come you haven't left the kitchen yet? Your duties are over for today, right?"

Seokjin looked at the big clock that was placed against the wall, beside the kitchen’s entrance. "Oh my God you're right general... it is really late." Seokjin said quickly. "I was carried away by Soonyoung-ssi here and I lost track of the time." he smiled at Jihoon as he was gathering his things. "I’m leaving then. Thank you General. Soonyoung... I will see you tomorrow." he said, then he bowed and exited the kitchen quickly leaving the two old "friends" in a really awkward situation.

This must have been the most epically failed mission in the history of epically failed missions, Jihoon thought bitterly. He could not, for the life of him, make small talk, especially with Soonyoung. Those damn cookies. He just had to get them. He suddenly hated cookies.

"Sooooo...." Soonyoung said after swallowing the last bite of his cookie. Immediately Jihoon was on alert. Time had passed since he last spoke with Soonyoung. Directly at least. Because he always ‘communicated’ with him through someone. Mostly Mingyu or Chan. But hearing his voice from up close was something Jihoon had almost forgotten. "What brings you here Jihooni- I-I-I mean general?"

Lee Jihoon did not blush. Ever. It was just hot in the kitchen and he was hungry, and he really needed to get these cookies in his mouth right now before he could blurt out anything stupid or embarrassing.

So, without saying anything he grabbed two of them from the jar that was in Soonyoung's arms and stuffed his mouth.

The sound of chewing was the only thing that filled the awkward silence.

If anyone in the morning had told Jihoon that he would be sharing cookies with Kwon Soonyoung at the kitchen late at night, he would have laughed in their faces while inwardly cringing. But here he was. He sighed, grabbed another biscuit and sat on the floor. Soonyoung quietly sat beside him and they ate in silence. Jihoon dreaded the moment they run out of those damn cookies. He should say something before then, anything to ease the tension.

"I don't get the fuss about Seokjin's biscuits, they are not even that good..." he mumbled.

Soonyoung's face changed from the typically smiley one to a very offended, in less than 0.2 seconds. Uh oh. Did he say something wrong again?

"Lee Jihoon how dare you say something like that?!" Soonyoung said, his voice higher than it normally was. "Seokjin's cooking is a blessing. Every day everyone is waiting to eat those delicious meals he prepares. His recipes are well known in the whole kingdom you know!" he continued.

"Whatever..." Jihoon said. There was something nostalgic about angry Soonyoung and Jihoon found himself quite amused. "Cooking is not that hard." he added, knowingly digging his own grave.

"Take- that- back." Soonyoung said behind clenched teeth.

"No." Jihoon replied dryly.

"Then... I'm sorry but you asked for it." the steward answered and with a quick move left the jar on the floor and attacked Jihoon.

Jihoon's eyes widened. Of course Soonyoung would do the most unexpected thing and attack the freaking general of the army. And of course, like always, Jihoon had let his guard down around his old friend, so he was easily tackled to the ground.

"What the hell Soonie!" he managed to say before instinct kicked in and he started to fight back.

Crap, Jihoon thought as the nickname slipped past his lips. That was the most surprising thing that had happened to him that day. How much time had passed, one year? Maybe two? Two years since that nickname last came out of the general’s mouth. The worse thing was that Soonyoung definitely caught it as well, because he suddenly, as a result, one of Jihoon's legs hit him right on the nose.

"Fuck." Jihoon cursed as he saw Soonyoung falling to his side and clutching his nose.

He immediately lifted himself up and hooked one arm around the blonde’s shoulder.

"Are you alright? Is there blood coming out? Did I break anything? Honestly, it was pretty stupid of you to attack me like this, like what did you expect I am a trained soldier..." Jihoon huffed, half angry half worried.

Soonyoung groaned as he tried to stand from the floor. "I'm fine don't worry Jihoonie... It's just a little blood nothing is broken..." he smiled as a small string of blood ran down from his left nostril.

"Tsk." Jihoon frowned and lifted his sleeve to gently wipe Soonyoung's blood.

Suddenly, it hit him.

What were they doing?

What was going on?

This shouldn't be happening.

This couldn't happen.

Not again.

He hastily dropped his hand and stood up, leaving Soonyoung kneeling on the floor.

"I uh... I apologize for what I said earlier... You should stop by the infirmary to get your wound checked... I uh... I have to go... " he bowed stiffly.

Soonyoung remained still as Jihoon passed by him and exited the kitchen. Jihoon did not know how to feel. He got carried away, that must have been it. They weren't doing anything inappropriate. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t managed to avoid a confrontation with the steward, but everything was fine.

Everything is fine, he repeated inside his head again. Even if for a moment he had slipped back to a happier time, a time were Soonyoung was all that mattered, a guilt-free and exciting time, it didn't mean anything now. No matter how happy and comforting his ex ‘best friend’ seemed, no matter how well he looked when he smiled and no matter what he once felt, things were different now. After two years, nothing was the same.

If only Soonyoung didn't like cookies as much as he did, everything would have been perfect. But for now, he had to settle for fine. Everything is okay, he repeated in his head over and over, until he reached his room and looked at the nearest mirror. Why were tears running down his face?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT HAS STARTED!!!
> 
> We hope you liked the beginning.  
> Next update in 7 days!!
> 
> We are looking forward to your opinion at the comments below!!!


	3. It was an accident!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!!!
> 
> SkWh here and I am back with the third chapter!
> 
> But! Before we proceed I would like you to take a look at some clarifications. They will help you have a better insight about the background of our characters and they will clear up the consept about the countries and other stuff.
> 
> So, first I would like to say that even if we write about Medival times, having extracted all of our information about those days according to English history, we are still in Korea. Gisa is the capital of Korea and Zhanshi is the capital of China. Completely random names to be fair.  
> Second thing; the ages of the characters is different from their real ones.  
> Minghao, Mingyu-> 20 years old  
> Chan-> 18 years old  
> Soonyoung, Jihoon-> 25 years old  
> Seokmin-> 23 years old  
> Seungkwan, Hansol-> 19 years old  
> Sungcheol, Jonghan, Jisoo ->27 years old
> 
> We did write this fanfic 2 years ago, so yes the ages aren't quite accurate. Also they need to be different because of the plot.
> 
> I will keep writting clarifications at the begining of each chapter, if it's necessary so please take a moment to read them before you start.
> 
> Enought with the blabbering. Let's go!  
> Enjoy~~~

Mingyu woke up refreshed and excited. Well, excited was an understatement. He was over the moon. The day he had dreamed about all those years had finally come and he radiated happiness. He stood up from his bed, dressed in his everyday clothes, cleaned his face, washed his teeth and left his room to start with his new schedule.

He hummed cheerfully as he made his way to the tool's shed to grab his usual mop and water bucket and then headed to the majestic second floor. In his way, he was stopped by many servants and occupants of the palace to congratulate him and wish him the best. Every blessing he received made him feel warmer inside.

Skipping the steps of the grand staircase he finally reached the second floor, taking a turn on his right to enter the dining room. Mingyu shuffled inside the grand room, where the royals ate their meals, and slowly approached one of the windows, taking a glimpse of the outside. The view was astounding. He could see the town’s entrance from where carts passed through. They rolled slowly inside the walls, loaded with products from the mines, or exited back towards the fields, empty and ready to be loaded again.

Directly below those windows, there was a small street. Not many people passed from there, except for some knights, coming back from their shifts, guarding the stables or the royal garden. Oh, the knights! Their training grounds should be more visible from up here! Mingyu rushed out of the dining room, running inside the first room, with windows that overlocked the courtyard. It ended up being the throne room, and Mingyu was really glad that the King wasn’t occupying it at that moment. He couldn’t imagine himself, having to explain why he ran like a maniac to the King of all people.

The footman, passed in front of the grand cushioned seat and made his way to the windows, leaning out. There it was; the knight's training yard. It was empty at the moment, but it didn’t matter. All this time, Mingyu was only responsible for cleaning the rooms that were facing the backyard. That’s why he felt excited at the prospect of finally getting a glimpse of the people he admired so much, while he was working.

He had all the time in the world to get used to his new surroundings, but he couldn't waste any more time at the moment, he had work to do. Hopefully Minghao would find him later, after he was finished with his own duties, so he could express just how excited he was. But for now, he had to mop.

Mingyu was mopping and singing, singing and mopping. Everything felt so good, so light, nothing could ruin his mood. Not even general Jihoon's grumpy voice, that under normal circumstances would give him chills, could bring down his happiness.

Speaking of general Jihoon, didn't he make a fuss yesterday because of the new knights' appearance? Perhaps he had been talking about the ones that made that fancy entrance yesterday. He wondered if they were as good as their own. Well, thanks to his new position, he would find out sooner or later, he thought giddily. He had to clean the floor faster, as there were more things he had to do now that he was a first footman.

He couldn't wait to write to his parents about his new position, they would be so proud! And the money he sent back home would increase. Mingyu felt good he was contributing so much to his family's well-being.

He continued happily mopping around the dining room sneaking quick glances outside. The time passed, and cleaning came to an end. His back hurt a bit, and sweat has pooled on his forehead. The only thing remaining was to empty his dirty water and continue to the next room.

Mingyu sighed and swept the sweat off his face as he approached the bucket. He grabbed the heavy metallic object and made his way towards the window over the narrow street. As soon as he reached the ledge, the sudden sound of horses immediately caught his attention, and without him noticing the bucket slipped from his hands.

Then, it happened... before he even realized it, the bucket took a nice dive into the emptiness. And that was when Mingyu saw his life flash before his eyes.

"Ow!" a voice was heard from below.

Mingyu snapped from his temporary sock as he heard the voice from outside. Quickly he leaned over the ledge to see what happened. Below the opened window was standing a young man, soaking wet. On his right hand he was holding a book, that was regrettably also drenched . Mingyu cursed under his breath at his sloth like reflexes.

"Are you okay sir?!" he shouted.

The man outside looked up and blinked confused when he saw him peering down from window.

"Hi?" he said uncertainly, clutching his head. "Is there any particular reason you threw this bucket at me?"

"What...!? Of course not!" Mingyu said right back at the stranger. "I was just trying to... I was going to… and you know I, I, I am sorry!" he continued moving his hands around, a typical habit of his when he was getting embarrassed or anxious.

"Oh... Okay?" the man looked around him uncertainly. "Do you umm have something I can try to wipe myself with?"

"Oh y-yes of course!" Mingyu said quickly. "Just stay there. I'll bring you a towel." and after that he vanished from the window's ledge.

He quickly ran towards the ground floor, passing corridors and climbing down stairs, until he reached his room. He stormed in, opened every cabinet he had on his dresser in search of what he was looking for, grabbed one of his freshly cleaned towels and stormed right back out. Running around the palace again, he passed the castle’s entrance and went towards the back to find the wet stranger who was waiting for him.

Mingyu ran as quickly as he could, not caring about the strange looks that some of the servants shot him. He turned right and headed for the back. After a minute, he saw him sitting on the ground looking at his wet book with worried eyes.

The man looked up hearing the running footsteps. He shot Mingyu a blank stare and got up to approach him.

"H-here... take this." Mingyu said out of breath and gave the towel to him.

"Thank you." he said simply and took the towel.

In Mingyu's surprise, he used it to wipe the book first, even though his light-brown hair was still dripping and clinging to his forehead.

It was futile though; a simple towel couldn't dry a book. The man sighed and threw the towel around his shoulders, wrapping his upper body with it, and looked at Mingyu again.

"Are you okay? You look a little red. Oh and your bucket is over there, I picked it up." he said pointing at a nearby wall.

"I am…" exhale, "perfectly…" exhale, "fine…" Mingyu said while trying to stand right on his feet. Maybe he should start exercising again. "Anyway... I…" he took a deep breath, "I'm really sorry about ermm all that. Really, it was an accident. I was just trying to get rid of the water, but I lost my focus... and it kind of slipped from my arms... and, and, and…"

"It's fine, take a breath." the man smiled lightly. "I'm not really hurt. My book on the other hand..." he scrunched his nose and looked at the wet object. "It's not even mine. I hope it isn't completely ruined." he added looking at the ground and then there was silence, except from Mingyu's own hard breathing.

At some point, something seemed to cross the other's mind because he looked straight into the footman's eyes.

"Wait a second, was that the water you used to mop the castle?" he said, mildly disgusted.

"Ermm what? Of course not! " Mingyu said, blushing a little.

The man looked at him completely unconvinced.

"It was, wasn’t it." he said seriously. He frowned at Mingyu, and suddenly, he looked ten times scarier. "Why are you lying to me?"

"Well I..." Mingyu sighed defeated. "Yes... yes it was" he whispered, gulping audibly.

The man looked at him intimidatingly for another moment.

And then, surprisingly, he laughed, putting his hands in front of his mouth and stepping back a little.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that. People always get so scared when they find out they hurt a knight." he said, still laughing.

Mingyu's world collapsed in front of his eyes. Did the stranger just address himself as a knight!? What the hell!? Mingyu's mouth opened so wide that if it was possible, it would hit the ground. He had in front of his own eyes, in flesh and blood, a knight. A real knight. Only then did he notice the sword that was strapped behind his back. His inner fanboy started screaming. That was, until the realization hit him hard on the face.

_He threw a bucket at him_. He threw a bucket full of dirty mopping water, _from the second floor,_ on a _knight_! Mingyu's face started becoming paler and paler as the seconds passed. He was shocked to say the least.

"Hey, I didn't mean that. Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I should stop doing this..." the knight approached him hesitantly.

Mingyu instinctively took five steps back. Why the hell did he do that...?

"Hey come on, it's okay. Honestly, I'm not even going to tell anyone. I umm... I'm Jeon Wonwoo. What's your name?" the knight put his hands up in defense and kept his distance.

Mingyu hesitated a little. He couldn't believe what was going on. A knight just asked his name. Someone had to be kidding him. "Mingyu... Kim Mingyu..."

"Pleased to meet you." Wonwoo said with a tiny smile.

A slight breeze passed them and Wonwoo shivered. He pulled the towel tighter against his body and looked at the ground again.

"I'm terribly sorry about what I did... I guess you should go change clothes... before you catch a cold." Mingyu said shyly.

Wonwoo nodded quietly. He looked at his book again and Mingyu noticed the sad look in his eyes. But then the knight lifted his gaze and smiled at him.

"It was nice meeting you... I mean, apart from the fact that I am drenched in filthy water."

Mingyu made a pained expression. But then his face lit up. "Well, I think I know a way to repay you about what happened." he said and smiled for the first time since he saw the knight.

Wonwoo gave him a questioning look. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

Before he could answer, the bell of the central church was heard. Mingyu counted the strikes. Twelve. Shoot, he was late. "I have to go!" he said walking backwards. "Meet me tomorrow here the same hour okay?" he smiled and then ran back to the castle.

~*~

"Uh, bye?" Wonwoo mumbled, but Mingyu was already gone, only a slight breeze left in his stead. "I hope I don't have training this time tomorrow..." he murmured to himself and headed to the washrooms at his dorm, to take a shower and wear fresh clothes.

_What a strange coincidence_ , Wonwoo thought, walking quickly. Kim Mingyu... He had heard that name somewhere before. Maybe sometime when he was guarding the higher ups? But the guy was merely a servant, he wouldn't have been able to be seen next to the royal family under any occasion.

That Mingyu person had been a stuttering mess. Wonwoo was usually more on the reserved side, but he couldn't help but laugh when remembering their small conversation. And what was the deal with paying him back? There were not many things Wonwoo wanted in his life. Cold nights, reading books next to a fireplace with a cup of tea was all he could ask for. But Mingyu couldn't exactly offer that, could he? He didn't seem like the type to spend much of his time peacefully alone. Oh well, he just had to wait and see.

When he reached his dorm, at the third floor of the army’s building, he took a hot shower and then left to see general Jihoon. Unfortunately, the general wasn't in a good mood (was he ever?) so he considered himself lucky that he took his orders without objects flying inches away from his face. _"Guard the entrance of the royal garden."_ was written on the piece of paper that the general handed him. Well that was an easy task.

Wonwoo really liked the gardens. They were peaceful and quiet, flowers were blooming no matter what season. He especially liked the winter flowers, simply because they were so rare. His absolute favourites were the cyclamens. They could grow anywhere, no matter the weather or the land, they were persistent and beautiful, but at the same time delicate and soft. They survived and bloomed in the weirdest locations, from mountainsides, to cracks between the stone walls.

One of his most vivid memories was the time the royal family visited those gardens. Wonwoo had just been appointed as a knight, he was new and unsure of himself. He shyly trailed behind his rulers, having been tasked to guard them during their walk. While most of them admired the lilies, the primroses and the pansies, the king kneeled beside the cyclamens and gently touched their petals.

"These flowers are the kind of flowers that were meant to take over the world while we can do nothing but admire them." he had said, and Wonwoo, having spent a lot of his time studying books and poems, was able to grasp the meaning behind these words.

Flowers were soldiers. They were thrown by a higher power in different lands under varying weather and conditions, and they were expected to survive and expand. Many of them were never going to make it, others, though, that had been thrown at ideal places would prosper. Then there were the cyclamens, stubbornly surviving no matter what.

This was what Wonwoo wanted to be. He never cared about what people thought of him, he didn't want to depend on anyone. During the warm and lovely times of the summer and in the company of his loved ones, he would live on. During the harsh judgement and coldness of the winter, he would survive.

The King would have been proud of him if he knew that he had made the connection. Especially since at the time, nobody had seemed to understand what he meant. Not his only son, even though the boy was usually bright, not the butler that was escorting them and certainly not the young second footman that was keeping them company.

Suddenly he halted in his steps, as realization dawned upon him. Kim Mingyu. That's why he seemed familiar.

Of course, Wonwoo had seen Mingyu before. He was always following the prince around together with his valet. Wonwoo had seen them for the first time when he was patrolling around the exact same garden that he was standing outside of right now, while his thought had been occupied by cyclamens.

Well then. Being drenched in filthy water by a footman was less embarrassing than being so from just a servant. Perhaps Wonwoo felt a little better now.

He stood outside the metal door that separated the gardens with the rest of the palace's grounds. He was going to spend quite some time like this, until another knight took over for him. It could get boring, but Wonwoo was good at daydreaming. The general should have given this task to one of the new knights that arrived the other day. It would do them good to spend some time being forced to do nothing. It would cultivate their patience and obedience.

Doing nothing was Wonwoo's specialty. Doing nothing could become a lifestyle.

Together with his persistence of independence and his quiet nature, he gave off an image of a stoic man. He was aware of that, but even if that was not the case, he didn't bother to correct anyone when they called him gloomy and he never tried to be someone he was not for his fellow knights to like him.

It's not that they hated him. He did have half-friends, even if sometimes he felt a little disconnected from them. Jeon Wonwoo was not a name you usually connected with fun and celebrations.

General Jihoon didn't seem to know him that well. He always thought Wonwoo was serious and someone to carry out duties diligently. If he knew what a lazy slob he could be sometimes, maybe he wouldn't have made him show around a few of the new knights the previous day. As he spent most of his free time in the libraries, he didn't know most of the palace's grounds, so the newbies had to wait patiently as he tried to find out what corridor they were in. It was a disaster.

So much for a good first impression to the new knights. At least something good has come out of this mess of a tour.

"Wonwoo-ssi!"

_Speaking of the devil and he shall appear_ , Wonwoo thought as he watched the brown-haired boy with the weird accent he called his newest friend approaching him.

"Good morning Wonwoo-ssi." the foreigner said, with his high voice.

"Good morning Junhui-ssi. How come you are here? Don't you have duties today?" Wonwoo replied.

"Well I was sent by the general actually..." Junhui continued. "He said that I should at least make myself useful since I came here for a reason. I asked him what I shall do and he... sent me here to accompany you." he smiled.

"Accompany me? That is strange, I am used to guarding things all alone. I guess we live in way too peaceful times if the general doesn't know what to do with his knights anymore." Wonwoo deadpanned.

"I guess we are." Junhui answered back shyly.

Wonwoo looked at him a bit awkwardly. Should he say something to continue the conversation? He usually didn't talk much. Did Junhui even want to talk? The silence was stretching, and it was getting weird.

"So, um..." he said after a cough. "The gardens are nice. Have you visited them yet?" he added and tried not to cringe at the sound of his own voice.

Junhui looked at him with a weird look. "Well no... not really... considering the fact that I came yesterday and that we aren’t allowed in them…" he answered awkwardly.

"Oh right. I forgot about that." Wonwoo said quickly. _This conversation is going great_ , he thought and sighed. "Anywhere else you wanted to visit and didn't have the chance yet?" he tried again.

"Hmmm…" Junhui scratch his chin lightly. "Well I haven't seen the town, the docks, the market... now that I think about it, I haven't seen anything really." he laughed.

"We could visit the town after our shift. Or the docks, or whatever... I mean only if you want."

_What a social butterfly I have become_ , Wonwoo thought bitterly as he said those words.

Junhui's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Really!?" he asked, and the smile on his lips was so bright and genuine. "I would love to!"

"Great then." Wonwoo said and this time the silence that fell was peaceful.

Wonwoo kind of understood Junhui. The guy had come from overseas, from Zhanshi, the country of the waterfalls, barely speaking the language and not knowing anyone from here. Wonwoo had felt like he could make a friend out of him, even just out of desperation.

_What a weird day_ , the knight thought to himself. From getting drenched with dirty water and not only meeting the first footman, but actually making plans to seeing him again, to trying to properly befriend Junhui, a man who could barely speak his language. His social life was buzzing lately.

~*~

Geometry was a cursed subject, Minghao thought as he wasted away in his studying room at the terrace of the castle, trying to understand what those ancient Greek people were trying to say about triangles and rectangles. _What a waste of time and energy_ , he frowned at his books. Sure, the subject might be useful to some people like farmers and architects but why should _he_ of all people study geometry? He was going to rule the country one day, why did he need to know how long a side of a triangle should be in order to fit in the registered circle? Subjects like history and philosophy he could understand. He loved studying about wars and ideas and figuring the motivation behind those people’s beliefs. It gave him insight to what his own people might need. But geometry? Minghao was convinced it was a cursed subject.

Deep in his studies, the prince didn't hear the frantic knock on the wooden door.

"Minghao hyung! Come back to reality! Too much daydreaming will damage your brain and you will end up like Mingyu hyung!" Chan shouted behind the closed wooden door.

Minghao laughed quietly and rushed to open the door. On the other side, the young valet was waiting for him, a tray of warm tea and snacks clutched between his hands.

"I’m not daydreaming. Geometry is reality. Unfortunately, as is the need for the prince to be educated. I will be tested on these exercises in a few days." he sighed and stepped aside so Chan could enter the small room.

“Yes hyung, but how many hours have you been in here? I'm surprised you haven't developed claustrophobia since you are here pretty much 12 hours per day." Chan said disapprovingly, putting the tray on the round table at corner of the small room.

"You are exaggerating. I wish I could study 12 hours a day, then maybe I could actually understand what I am reading." Minghao said and took a bite of one of the cookies. "Mm that's delicious. Seokjin hyung made them I presume?"

"Who else? They're great, right?" Chan agreed and grabbed one as well. "I'm glad Soonyoung-hyung didn't eat them all last night."

Minghao chuckled and brought his cup of tea to his lips.

"What are you doing today Chan? Apart from baby-sitting me." the prince asked, looking out of the window.

Clearly, that caught the little valet off guard. "Nothing out of my everyday schedule hyung." he voiced, a small smile appearing on his lips.

“Interesting." Minghao hummed and took another bite from the biscuit.

One of the reasons Minghao had picked this particular room to study was because the view from that window was spectacular. He could clearly see the whole royal garden with its breathtaking colours, caused by the big variety of flowers it had. He could also observe what was happening at the town’s main gate and take a glimpse of the river, along with the great bridge that was connecting their town with the main land. Whenever he got tired and needed a break, he gazed outside of this window to calm himself down. The scenery was so relaxing and peaceful. Moreover, the bridge was filled with all sorts of people passing through, doing all sorts of businesses. And unlike some of the subjects the prince was studying, observing them from the top of the castle was particularly interesting and amusing.

However, as he glanced down to the alley that lead to the front courtyard, Minghao was met with a far more interesting and amusing sight.

"Oh my god Chan, come look at this!" he exclaimed with a shriek, pointing downwards. "Is that Mingyu talking to this knight?"

"What are you talking about- oh my, hyung you're right!" Chan exclaimed. "It is indeed Mingyu hyung!"

"How in the world did this happen? I am sure he is embarrassing himself right now." Minghao laughed loudly.

"He definitely is, look at his hands, flying all over the place." Chan snickered behind his hand.

"What is he even talking about with a knight?" Minghao wondered, squinting at the scene beneath him.

"Hyung, is it my imagination or does this knight seem a little wet...?" the valet asked.

"Wah...?" the prince tried to see what Chan was talking about and then he noticed that yes, the knight's hair was sticking to his forehead. "He is indeed!"

"Well, I would love to hear the story behind all that." Chan said, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Do we wait here for him or we go find him?" Minghao asked, arching a mischievous eyebrow at his valet.

Chan looked the prince and his smirk grew even more. "What do you propose your majesty?"

"Hmmm..." Minghao placed a finger at his chin contemplatively. "I say we ambush him. Don't let him prepare his words. He is going to be a stuttering mess."

"Excellent suggestion your highness." Chan snickered and glanced outside of the window. "He's turning back!" he exclaimed urgently.

"Come on hurry up, let's catch him downstairs and lock him in the kitchen!" Minghao yelled and ran out the door.

The day was becoming more and more exciting, Minghao thought to himself as he and Chan rushed all the way down towards the ground floor, just to make Mingyu's life miserable once more.

They went as fast as they could, passing by servants who gave them serious looks and carelessly tumbling down the stairs. When they reached the ground floor, they bumped into the flustered footman.

"Your highness! Chan!" he said breathless.

"Shh, shh quiet!" Minghao closed his mouth with his palm. "You are coming with us!" he said.

Mingyu made a mildly alarmed high-pitched noise, muffled from Minghao's hand, but he had no choice other than to follow them as they dragged him away.

Minghao shoved Mingyu inside the palace's kitchen and Chan closed the door behind them. Luckily for them, nobody was using the said room at that hour. If Seokjin, or worse, if Soonyoung found out what they were doing, they would be in serious trouble. So they kept their volumes at bay and talked as quickly as they could.

"Kim Mingyu, sit down and explain!" Minghao said, pointing at a chair.

"Explain what?! I didn't do anything! I swear!" Mingyu said, raising his hands up.

"Oh really. So, your first day as a first footman went smoothly? Nothing unnatural occurred?" Minghao crossed his arms at his chest.

Chan mimicked the prince, sending a questioning look towards Mingyu.

"Well... I could say... yes!" Mingyu answered, fidgeting.

Minghao looked pointedly at his valet. "You hear him Chan? Shall we believe him?" he said mockingly.

"I think... we should." Chan started, making Mingyu’s eyes light with hope. "Not!" Chan laughed.

Minghao chuckled at Mingyu's dejected expression. "Spill it Mingyu. Why on earth were you speaking with a knight?"

"What... Where... When?!" the footman stuttered.

"Oh, I am sorry, perhaps I misunderstood, maybe you weren't talking with a wet knight just now?" Minghao said nonchalantly and Mingyu choked and started coughing.

"There's our answer." Chan smiled, pointing an accusing finger towards the footman.

Mingyu was looking at them both with wide eyes. "How did you guys find out-?" he tried to say but was interrupted.

"Aha! So you confess!" Minghao exclaimed, pointing at him aggressively.

"Well alright... I admit it. I was indeed talking with a knight. But I didn't plan to. I was done with the moping on the second floor and I was ready to get rid of the dirty water, when suddenly I heard horses. I thought they were knights. I lost my focus, okay? And I kind of let the bucket slip out of my hands…" Mingyu whispered the last part.

"Wait, wait, wait. Repeat that last sentence?" Minghao said wide eyed, leaning closer in Mingyu’s space.

"I... let... the bucket slip." Mingyu mumbled again, his voice barely audible.

"And it _fell_ on that _knight_? Oh my god Mingyu, that's just your luck." Minghao laughed loudly, clapping his hands.

Mingyu lowered his head in embarrassment, shrinking further in his wooden chair.

When Minghao recovered from his laughing fit he spoke again. "And what were you talking about all that time? Tell us everything, I am expecting breathtaking details." he said, sitting atop a table.

"I'm going to go ahead and say that the biggest part of their conversation was Mingyu's apologies." Chan piped up, leaning on the nearby counter.

"Well no!" Mingyu said offended. "I would like to inform you my sweet Channie, that wasn't the case at all. On the contrary, we exchanged names and I will meet him again tomorrow." Mingyu informed with a proud smile.

Minghao felt his jaw drop. "You what? You asked him out?" he said half-jokingly and Chan laughed.

Even if his friends mocked him all the time for his slight obsession, they knew that Mingyu wouldn't actually do such a thing. One day, he too would find a wife to settle down with and have children and stop dreaming about knights in shining armors.

"Laugh all you want but I had to do something for him to apologize since not only I drenched him with water, but I ruined a book of his. And judging by the look he had... it was a book he liked a lot." Mingyu spoke, his face suddenly dropping with sadness.

"So what are you doing tomorrow as an apology? What book was he reading, did you get a glimpse at the title? And describe him to me, name, age and please tell me just _how_ did you manage to convince him to meet again, what did you say? And what did _he_ say? Was he upset?" Minghao bombarded his friend with questions.

"Well I would love to replace what I ruined, so I was planning on going to the town tomorrow morning. An old friend of mine has a bookstore. Maybe with a little luck I could find the same book." Mingyu answered. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Victor Hugo. The old version with the red cover and the golden seam. And as for how I did it... I kinda like just announced it to him."

"Announced to him, oh my god do you hear that Chan? Mingyu is finally becoming assertive, and with a knight non the less!" Minghao said impressed.

"I didn't have much of a choice since I left my duties-"

" _Kim Mingyu!_ " a voice boomed.

"Oh, we took you away from your duties?" Minghao whispered at Mingyu's visibly whitening face.

"Soonyoung hyung is gonna flip if he finds him here." Chan announced, eyes wide.

"Minghao what am I gonna do?!" Mingyu said, panicking so much that he was ready to cry.

"Alright, alright I've got this, I can't allow you to be punished before your date tomorrow." Minghao winked. "Chan hide. Now. I have a plan." he announced.

"Yes hyung." Chan spoke and immediately hid behind some old crates that were used for transportation.

Minghao jumped off the table and pulled Mingyu so he was facing the cabinets.

"What are you doing?!" Mingyu whisper-shouted but Minghao ignored him, taking a deep breath.

"And after that last trigonometric problem I really couldn't take it anymore." he said loudly, and Mingyu looked at him like he was crazy.

Then Soonyoung entered the kitchen.

"Kim Mingyu! Here you are!" the steward shouted, his face red from his anger. "What in the name of Lord are you doing! It's your first day at your new position and instead of taking it seriously you leave your job undone!" Soonyoung continued.

Mingyu began shaking but Minghao placed an arm protectively in front of him.

"It was me that disturbed him from his duties. I was exhausted from studying and I needed some tea. I found Mingyu before I was able to find Chan, so I had him make me tea. Don't get mad, please." he explained, and even if the words were pleading his voice and posture were commanding.

This was not just Minghao talking, it was prince Minghao of Gisa.

Soonyoung immediately backed down. “Your majesty… I-I… my deepest apologies.” Soonyoung stuttered, bowing his head embarrassed. "But it's his first day and he already left without permission. What if it was your father the one who found the mop and the broom laying on the dining room's floor?" the steward continued, trying to explain his behaviour. "Then both Mingyu and I would be in trouble.”

"If that was the case, I would tell father exactly what I told you. I know I should have waited for Chan, it is not a behaviour I tend to frequently repeat, but for once I was really tired. After my tea, Mingyu will return to his duties and I am going back to my studies. Will that be all Soonyoung-ssi?" Minghao said dismissively.

Minghao saw Soonyoung crinkling his nose. _‘Soonyoung-ssi?’_ Maybe that had been a little too much.

"I'm sorry your majesty. You're right. I shouldn't have said that." Soonyoung said, bowing deeply once again.

"Thank you for your concern." Minghao voiced coldly, subtly gesturing at the door.

Soonyoung got the hint and with a last bow he shuffled out of the room. The moment the door was closed behind him, Minghao sat on the marbled floor and placed his head on his hands.

"I was too harsh with him, I already feel guilty." he whined but Mingyu smiled encouragingly.

"Thank you for that. Chan you can come out now." he sighed.

"Maybe you should find him later and apologize." Chan suggested, getting out from behind the crates.

"I guess I will... After Mingyu's date though, I am not risking that." Minghao smiled mockingly up at his friend whose face had started getting red again.

"It's not a date!" Mingyu whined, facing away.

"Of course it isn't. Have you decided what to wear yet?" Minghao chuckled.

"Minghao... please." Mingyu whined again. "I will just give him the book, I will apologize again, and then back to my business. You saw Soonyoung hyung." he continued pointing at closed door. "Two days in a row? I don't exactly have a death wish so... no… thank you very much."

Minghao paused to think. No, Mingyu really couldn't afford to slack off any more, especially after the promotion. The timing was just so bad. On the other hand, his friend had finally met a knight. Jokes aside, what if they ended up becoming friends? That had been Mingyu's dream ever since they were little. He couldn't let him lose such an opportunity. What kind of friend would he be if even in this situation he couldn't do anything?

"Alright." he said after a while. "Chan and I will cover for you tomorrow. Just do as much work as possible in the early morning and after you leave to meet your knight, we will take over. We have to stay hidden from Soonyoung hyung, but we will do your work."

"What?" Mingyu questioned shocked. "Your majesty, what are you talking about?" he shook his head once, and his next words were much more certain. "I can't allow you to do that... No, I won't allow you!" Mingyu said determined. "It's a matter of pride. I will wake up very early and I will do all my duties. Or I can ask Soonyoung-hyung to give me half of tomorrow’s schedule now, so I can finish it today. I will have half of my day cleared. I will work double and until it’s really late but it's worth it." Mingyu persisted.

"Mingyu you are not in a position to make demands from Soonyoung right now. Do you want to lose that promotion not even two days in it? It is so much easier to have Chan excused from his duties tomorrow and let us cover for you." Minghao answered, equally determined. "What do you think Chan, can we do it?"

"Of course we can!" Chan exclaimed full of excitement.

Mingyu shook his head in denial. "No way, I can't let you. If I can't convince Soonyoung to clear my schedule for tomorrow afternoon, then I simply won't be able to meet with Wonwoo. Minghao you are the prince, I can't let you do the work of a servant." he insisted stubbornly.

"So his name is Wonwoo, huh?" Minghao wiggled his eyebrows, completely changing the subject.

"That's not the point!" Mingyu whined, a blush obvious on his neck and face.

"Come on, describe him to us. You never answered my questions before Soonyoung interrupted us." Minghao smiled teasingly. "I need to know if he is worth all the mopping and cleaning I am doing tomorrow."

Mingyu sighed. "Well, as I said, his name is Wonwoo. Jeon Wonwoo. He is a little taller than you Minghao, with dark eyes and light brown hair. He has a sharp jaw line and his nose crinkles every time he smiles.” Mingyu babbled not noticing that he had the goofiest smile Minghao and Chan had ever seen.

Minghao, as expected, burst out laughing. "Hahaha I can’t believe there are poor girls lining up just to court you, while here you are, admiring how a knight's nose crinkles when he laughs."

"When are you introducing us to this sharp-jawline-hyung? You need our prince's blessing." Chan snickered and Minghao laughed even louder.

"Seriously, when are you proposing? You would make a great housewife." the prince continued, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

Mingyu blushed hard... so, so hard. Immediately, his head lowered between his shoulders, a pout curling around his lips.

Chan was the first to sober up. "Don't mind us hyung. You go have fun with your new friend and let me and his royal highness that is rolling on the floor over there, take care of your chores. We can do as much for you." he nodded, patting Mingyu on the shoulder.

Mingyu heaved a sigh. "Alright, alright. I'm in." Mingyu said raising his hands in defeat. "But can you please make him stop?!" he whined, pointing at Minghao on the floor.

Chan nodded and leaned down to poke Minghao with his finger. "Your majesty, who do you think is washing those clothes that you are dirtying right now? Please get up." he judged.

Minghao looked at his valet and sat up. "I am sorry Chan." he said, clearing his throat. Then he turned to Mingyu. "You agreed then? Perfect. Make sure to woo him tomorrow, do something extravagant that will demand his attention. I refuse to slave myself away for a day if you two don't end up becoming friends. Or you know, something more pfft-" he laughed again but Chan poked him in the ribs.

"I'll try. But he is a knight... I don't know if he would like to be friends..." Mingyu looked at his feet. "But I’ll try, that's for sure!" he said with a toothy grin.

"Good." Minghao smiled back. "Now if you excuse me, I need to go replace the study time I will be losing tomorrow. Chan, there will be no need for dinner, just a cup of tea before you retire for today."

"Hyung. Not again." Chan eyed him. "It's the second day in a row."

"I will be fine." Minghao ruffled his valet's hair and left the kitchen.

He had a long night ahead of him.

~*~

Late that night, a knock on his office door woke Soonyoung up from his daze.

The previous night had been a catastrophe. Soonyoung had barely slept for two hours. Nevertheless, he had to do his job, so he woke up, together with a headache, to fill his papers and make some schedules for the palace’s staff. The least he wanted right now was a visit though. Especially after his fight with the prince.

"Come in." Soonyoung grumbled, placing his head on his palms.

The door half opened, and a hesitant Chan poked his head inside the room. "May I sit here for a while or are you busy hyung?" he asked softly.

Well Soonyoung didn't see that coming. "Channie... what are you doing here? Is the prince with you?"

"No, it's just me." Chan opened the door a little wider. "I finished my duties. Prince Minghao didn't want dinner, he just had some tea." he shook his head disapprovingly.

"Ah he will never learn... that kid." Soonyoung judged, straightening his position at his chair.

Chan walked into the office and sat at a chair opposite of Soonyoung's desk, the soft cushion crinkling under his weight. "I just... wanted to ask you, am I doing alright? Is this perhaps my fault? I mean... He usually eats dinner, right?" he said timidly.

"Well that's definitely not your fault Channie." Soonyoung said, smiling for the first time that day. Chan always made him feel better, he could always count on him. That little boy was a blessing.

"If you say so... Then what do you think is wrong with him?" Chan asked, looking troubled.

"Lots of things in his mind I guess..." Soonyoung sighed, threading a hand in his blonde hair. "He is young, and he has so many responsibilities. His father is expecting so much from him. Just like his uncle did to his own son."

Chan perked up at that. "Prince Samuel is doing really fine though, isn't he? I remember preparing him for his engagement ceremony, he looked happy." he recalled.

"Well, as far as I know he is doing great. He has actually started preparing his wedding." Soonyoung laughed at that.

Prince Samuel, the youngest member of the royal family. Also the first one out of the two princes that was going to get married, all in favour of their Kingdom. He was so young, younger than Minghao, even younger than Chan. Though small at age, prince Samuel was very clever and quick-witted, thus when his father told him about the plans to get him engaged so that they can preserve the peace in their country, the little one was more than glad to do it. He was going to marry the first princess of Zhanshi, a country in South China. The kingdoms of Zhanshi and Gisa had always had good political dealings. They had been supporting one another for decades now through royal marriages. Minghao’s mother had been in prince Samuel’s place once as well, getting sent to another country to marry its upcoming ruler.

"The engagement that was planned to sign up the papers was marvelous..." Soonyoung commented.

"I hadn't received my rank two years ago, so I did not attend it. It was such a huge event, I remember everyone talking about the celebrations. Do you remember how it was hyung?" Chan asked dreamily.

Soonyoung _did_ remember. Very well, too well. It had been the best and worst day of his life.

"It was the greatest celebration the kingdom had seen ever since the passing of our queen. Lots of delicious food, good wine, the greatest music. The most impressive thing though, was the decoration if you believe it or not. Everyone was talking about it." Soonyoung laughed.

"How was the room decorated?" Chan blinked curiously.

"Well if I recall correctly... they were lots of round tables filling up the ballroom, dressed in beautiful white table clothes made of silk. On top of them were vases with lilies and roses, all cut directly from the royal garden. The center was empty so that the guests could dance. And at the front was a big table, for the three royal families, ours, Samuel’s and the one from Zhanshi.” the steward explained.

“The impressive thing was that the whole decoration thing was so simple, yet it captured everyone's eyes." Soonyoung laughed under his breath at the memory. "I guess Seungkwan indeed knew what he was doing."

"He was responsible for the decoration? Oh my, that explains it. Seungkwan hyung can really do anything." Chan laughed along.

Boo Seungkwan, the youngest and most talented clothier in Gisa. His clothes dressed both royal families as well as some rich people of the first class. He was also famous overseas for selling out any kind of merchandise he got his hand on. The kid was ridiculously talented when it came to clothes or shoes. In fact, he was so good at his job, that the royals were calling him whenever they needed general aesthetical advice, such as room decorations for an important event. He usually ended up in charge of such jobs.

Soonyoung nodded. "Yes... yes he can."

"It must have been a fun night. Too bad I missed it. You are really lucky to have been there hyung." Chan sighed with a small pout.

Well _, lucky_ would not be the adjective that Soonyoung would use to describe himself that night. More like extremely unfortunate. But he was not going to tell that to anyone, especially Chan. He just laughed and leaned over his desk to ruffle the young valet's hair.

“You’ll get to go to so many celebration now that your are prince Minghao’s valet that you’ll get sick of them.

Chan looked at him full of doubt, but he didn’t comment on it. "I should be going... Tomorrow's going to be a big day..." Chan began saying but bit his tongue.

"Is it?" Soonyoung said arching an eyebrow. "I thought you had an easy schedule tomorrow... or am I mistaken?" he asked confused.

"Ahh Minghao hyung asked me to help him study." Chan improvised. "I don't know how much help I am actually going to be, his education far exceeds mine, so I am kind of nervous." he explained briefly and reflexively pushed his hair back.

Soonyoung felt even more confused. His brain cells had already started dying a few hours ago so he didn’t spend any more time thinking about this. He just smiled sympathetically at the young one. "Good luck with that then." he encouraged.

"Thank you hyung, though you should get some rest too. You work hard all the time and tomorrow is a slow day. Maybe you should take the chance to relax for once." Chan smiled innocently. “It is okay to take it easier sometimes.”

"Ah I wish I could Channie... but tomorrow is Evaluation Day. I have to see what my staff is doing. It won't really be a slow day for me, trust me." he sighed, settling back on his chair.

"Is this about Mingyu's new position? I heard what happened today..." Chan said sympathetically.

"Well, unexpected things happen I guess... and yes I want to see if Mingyu has taken the position seriously." Soonyoung lowered his head. "Although I don't blame our prince. I stepped over the line. The next time I will be more careful..."

"Ι understand what you mean. Sometimes it's hard to realize that prince Minghao isn't simply a friend of ours, but he is royalty. He is going to be king one day, yet we still make fun of each other like when we were children." Chan spoke softly, a small grin marring his lips. "Mingyu must feel this way too."

A small pause.

"Well would you look at that. It's night already." Soonyoung said looking out of the window behind him. "I believe you should head to your room. It will be a big day tomorrow." he advised.

"I am going, I am going. By the way, what time are you going to check up on us? I need to make sure I am not with the prince." Chan asked, standing up from his seat.

"Around one or two o’clock I guess..." Soonyoung answered nonchalantly.

"Alright hyung." Chan smiled and walked towards the door. "See you tomorrow. Good night!" he waved.

"Good night Channie." Soonyoung waved back, returning to his papers right away.

~*~

Chan shuffled out of the door and gently closed it behind him, immediately walking away. The moment he was out of Soonyoung's earshot he sprinted, heading to the terrace and towards Minghao's study room. The prince had said he didn't want to be interrupted but that was an emergency. Chan wasn't one to curse, but really, the timing of this evaluation couldn't have been worse. Minghao and he _really_ needed to figure out what to do. They had to come up with some short of plan, they owed it to Mingyu. The valet was determined to not let their friend down

As soon as he reached the terrace, his hand collided with the study room’s door. He burst inside the room, not even bothering to knock.

He was panting and sweating, his eyes falling on a startled and mildly annoyed Minghao. "Hyung we have a serious problem!" he said closing the door behind him.

"...What?" Minghao answered quietly, still a little disoriented.

"Tomorrow is Evaluation Day. Soonyoung-hyung will go around the castle observing and evaluating our duties. And I should say that he will be extra careful with Mingyu hyung because of what happened today!" Chan explained, the words rushing out of his mouth like an uncontrolled waterfall.

"Wait, what? Tomorrow? But tomorrow we will be covering for Mingyu, right?" Minghao frowned, still a little out of it.

"Yes hyung, we will! That's the problem!" Chan shouted a little frustrated that Minghao was taking this so calmly.

"Can you stop yelling please? What's with storming inside the room without as much as a knock when I specifically asked not to be disturbed Chan?" Minghao said, now a little irritated.

Chan couldn't believe his ears. Minghao was not even understanding what was going on.

"Hyung. Let me rephrase what I just said. Tomorrow we will cover up for Mingyu hyung right?!" Chan started. It was important for Minghao to understand the situation even if Chan had to repeat himself a hundred more times.

"Yes."

"Alright..." Chan breathed in to calm himself. "Tomorrow is also Evaluation Day. And that means that Soonyoung hyung will be walking unstoppably around the castle judging our jobs. And Mingyu..." he paused. "Mingyu is his main target."

Chan saw the cogs in the prince’s mind finally turning around, a thoughtful expression rising on his face. That was it; Minghao was working on a plan, and Chan was ready to help.

"Okay so... What are we doing?" the prince eventually said, looking ready to discuss his thoughts.

"I don't know." Chan whined. "Why tomorrow of all days... why is Mingyu hyung so unlucky..." he sighed, sitting on the floor. He leaned his head on his palm, huffing out loud. The situation was really frustrating.

Minghao laughed slightly at that. "Trust Mingyu to be the unluckiest person ever, even when fate finally made his wish to meet a knight true. He will owe us so much if we manage to pull this off." he chuckled, getting off his seat and taking out some papers. "Alright, what did Soonyoung tell you? We need details of this evaluation." the prince asked, resuming his seat.

"He didn't say much...” Chan stated. “He said he will start around one in the afternoon and that he will see if Mingyu has indeed take his position seriously." he repeated Soonyoung’s words.

"Okay, one o’clock, we can work with that." Minghao commented and laughed a little bitterly.   
"Honestly, he couldn't have picked a worst time. Come here Chan, we need to think this through carefully. And as quickly as possible, geometry still awaits me." he huffed tiredly.

"Alright..." Chan said and he stood up from the floor, closing the distance between him and Minghao. "Let's do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it with this chapter guys!  
> Next in seven days!
> 
> I hoped you liked it and we are looking forward to your comments below.
> 
> Also if you want, check out this playlist that I made with songs that you might like accompany you with your reading;  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEeAN471boQ&list=PLBL_WOdHbDbSODTwcrM_KP_a4RBqJnK0z&index=1  
> They were the songs that brought us a lot of inspiration.
> 
> So until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	4. The Evaluation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo people!!!
> 
> Here again with another chapter!   
> This time though I have to warn you that it's preeetty long!
> 
> As we previously said; we started writting this story two years ago so the structure of the fanfic is a little weird. There are gonna be more huge chapters in the future, just so you know.
> 
> There are no clarifications in this chapter, so without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

It was around ten in the morning when Mingyu exited the palace's main gate, heading for the commercial street. He had already finished some of his duties earlier, so he wouldn't leave all the hard work to Minghao and Chan. He had managed to sneak out without Soonyoung, or anyone for that matter, see him. He walked through the long familiar street, until he reached his destination, an old bookstore inside a small strait at the end of the market. Mingyu entered from the store's door, the smell of old paper and stationery hitting his nostrils.

"Good morning Namjoon-hyung, how are you?" Mingyu greeted the owner of the shop.

The man gave him a dimpled smile behind his counter. "Hello Mingyu-ssi. It's been a while.” he greeted.  
“Everything is as you remember it, not many things change in shops like mine."

"I see... that's good. Well, I'm looking for a specific book and I hoped maybe you could help me." Mingyu smiled back.

"It's not a romance novel with princesses and knights again, is it? I'm not sure how I can cover for you again." Namjoon winked, stepping off his counter and making a hand gesture for Mingyu to follow him to the inner part of the shop.

"Hyung, I thought we had agreed not to mention that again…" Mingyu whined. Namjoon laughed under his breath. "But no, not this time. Right now I need Victor Hugo..." Mingyu added.

The shopkeeper stopped laughing and glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"Not that I am questioning your intelligence or anything, oh great first footman... Yeah Jungkook told me about that by the way, congratulations. But are you sure this is what you want?"

Mingyu squinted his eyes. "Ha-ha very funny hyung." he said unamused. “It's not for me... it's for a... ermm friend of mine."

"Oh? Did you find a noble girl that reads Hugo? I am so proud of you." Namjoon beamed.

"Well... you could say that... but anyway. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The old version? The one with the red cover and the golden details...?" Mingyu said.

"Hmmm." Namjoon placed his fingers on his lips contemplatively. "That's a tough one. Come with me." he said and climbed up a squeaky ladder to reach an upper part of the bookshelf. "If I have it, it should be here. Just wait a second."

Mingyu prayed to every higher power that existed for Namjoon to actually have that book. If he didn't... not only would he make a joke out of himself but he would also disappoint Wonwoo. Mingyu was the one that asked Wonwoo to meet him today. He _had_ to find and give him that book so that he would become a decent person to the knight's eyes.

Seconds ticked to minutes and the only sound in the store was the shuffling of books and papers. Mingyu didn't want to lose hope. After all, his childhood friend had never disappointed him before. If he ever was in a crisis, he could always count on Namjoon, even for the most embarrassing situations. So Mingyu believed that this time too, he could save his dignity. The only reason he was taking this long must have been because he had made a mess and disorganized the entire bookshelves, that's why he had trouble finding the book. Namjoon had become an excellent librarian with an immense knowledge on many subjects, but most of the time he was awfully clumsy.

That's something he and Namjoon had in common. Getting themselves, accidentally, in situations that were difficult to resolve. The only difference was that Namjoon would always find a way to get through them while Mingyu would came face to face with the consequences.

"Hyung. No pressure or anything, but if you don't have the book I am going to be in a lot of trouble." Mingyu pouted.

As soon as he said these words Namjoon looked down at him smirking.

"What? You mean this book?" he said waving Victor Hugo’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ up and down. The old version.

Mingyu's smile reached his ears showing his long canines. At last... he had begun losing his faith. But as always, Namjoon had his back. The librarian climbed down the stairs and showed Mingyu the book.

"Hyung thank you so much! I owe you big time." Mingyu said his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Yeah you really do. Make sure to tell your girlfriend how much you owe me." Namjoon said and strolled back to the counter to wrap the book with a fancy cloth.

Mingyu coughed.

"Yes hyung… I'll tell her." he said between shallow breaths.

Namjoon wrapped the book in a wine-red fabric and tied it with a golden ribbon, making a small bow in the middle. Mingyu paid for it and left the shop with a wish of good luck from his hyung.

He trailed the same road backwards and after 15 minutes he reached the palace. He quickly passed the courtyard and made a beeline to Minghao's study room, trying to remain unseen.

Once there, he lightly knocked the door, and after some shuffling from inside the room, a tired Minghao opened the door. The prince looked awful. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was greasy and his clothes were crinkled. Despite his poor state, he smiled at the footman.

"So everything's going well?" he asked quietly and made a sign with his fingers to keep their voice down, as Chan was sleeping curled up on a sofa nearby.

"Everything went fine..." Mingyu said slowly.

"You got the book I presume?" the prince stretched his arm above his head, fighting back a yawn.

Mingyu showed the wrapped book and smiled. “All done sir.” he teased.

"Great. So what else have you done? What do Chan and I need to do later?" Minghao asked.

"Well I have already helped Seokjin hyung with the lunch preparation, I swept and mopped the cellars and finished the first floor." Mingyu counted. "The only thing left is the cleaning of the second." he finished.

Minghao let out a sigh of relief, and Mingyu felt a little bad that he was making him do this. It was too late to turn back though.

"And what time are you leaving to meet with the knight?" Minghao asked, walking further inside his room.

Mingyu glanced at the clock. "In half an hour." he said and shivered.

Minghao placed an arm on his friend's shoulder. "Come on, don't be anxious. We've got your back here. Soonyoung will not suspect a thing."

"I hope so." Mingyu said under his breath. "Maybe I should go and change... be more presentable?" he wondered out loud.

"Come on Gyu, your dreams are finally coming true. You are going to hang out with a knight! Cheer up!" the prince patted his back encouragingly.

"You're right. I should be happier!" Mingyu said, forcing his voice to sound louder.

Suddenly a groan was heard from the sofa. Minghao lightly slapped Mingyu's arm, but it was too late. A ruffled eighteen-year-old looked at them with half lidded eyes.

"What time is it?" he murmured.

"Time for us to dress Mingyu up properly and send him to his date." Minghao laughed.

That was about how long Minghao could hold his jokes back. Mingyu should have expected it. Chan giggled, stretching the sleep out of his body.

"What is he going to wear?" Chan asked Minghao, completely ignoring the footman.

"Let's see what his dresser has..." Minghao said, exiting the study room, followed by an excited Chan and a whining Mingyu.

Minghao made his way towards the footman's small room at the ground floor of the castle. He entered hastily and proceed to open Mingyu's closet to find the perfect outfit for his not-date.

"Is that really necessary?" Mingyu whined.

"Yes Mingyu it is. Stop complaining already." Minghao rolled his eyes. "It is fun to prepare your friend for an outing. You never court any lady, so Chan and I are kind of deprived of the feeling."

"That's not the same Minghao!" Mingyu said offended. "First of all Wonwoo is not a Lady!   
And second, I'm just going to give him an apology gift, not ask him to marry me." he huffed.

After the outburst, Chan quietly tugged Minghao's sleeve.

"He is right hyung. Let's not take this joke too far, it might get weird. We can prepare him whenever he finally decides to court a lady."

"Thank you Channie..." Mingyu said, looking fed up with Minghao's behavior.

Minghao looked like he understood, but he didn't apologize. "Alright. If you are really offended, no more jokes." he crossed his arms on his chest.

"Look... partly you are right, I should dress in something more presentable than my work clothes. But do not exaggerate, alright?" Mingyu said giving Minghao the green light to start, again, searching in his closet to find a proper outfit.

"Okay then." Minghao clapped his hands and looked over the different clothes Mingyu owned. "As you said, we are not taking this very seriously, so Mingyu, you can give your opinion too." he smiled teasingly.

"Whatever you say..." Mingyu shrugged.

After a couple of minutes and with a lot of complaining from Mingyu, Minghao and Chan finally made a decent outfit for their friend. The three friends agreed on a pair of plain black pants with a white shirt, for top, and Mingyu’s black boots. They also placed small belt on his waist to add an idea of ‘royalty’. He was the first footman after all.

"We did a good job, didn't we Chan?" Minghao said proudly.

Chan smiled slightly. The young valet has been dressing the prince for years now. He knew a lot of things about clothes. Mingyu had been in good hands. Mingyu took a glance of his outfit at his room’s old mirror. Yeah, he looked decent. Now he was ready to meet Wonwoo and apologize properly.

Mingyu cringed a little at how that thought sounded. After all this teasing, was a tiny microscopic part of him actually thinking of this as a date?

No, of course not. He was not interested in dating, and even if he was, there were plenty of women there for him. Both his looks and position allowed him to pick any wife he wanted. Minghao, as a prince, wasn't as lucky, so Mingyu could understand his obsession with his own personal life. Maybe he should court a woman after all. After the whole knight fiasco, he would have to finally consider it.

"We definitely did, hyung." Chan said, nodding at Minghao.

"Thank you Minghao, Channie..." Mingyu said smiling. He then took a glance at the clock on his nightstand. Quarter to twelve. He was late. Mingyu shrieked. "I got to go, see you guys later alright? Be careful with the remaining chores and please don't let Soonyoung hyung see you! I don't want to die!" Mingyu rushed.

Minghao and Chan exchanged looks, as if they knew something he didn’t. Mingyu would have been worried about his friends keeping something from him in a crucial moment like this, but he didn’t have time.

"Good luck hyung!" Chan yelled, and Minghao waved encouragingly.

Mingyu waved back and then he was off. He rushed his way down to the courtyard, but he stopped when he reached the corner of the castle. He didn't want to appear breathless and sweaty again. He really didn't need to embarrass himself anymore to the knight. He brushed his hair with his hand and walked slowly towards the alley he had met Wonwoo before.

His heart was beating so fast. Finally, his dream would become true. He would become friends with a knight! Well, he didn't know for sure if Wonwoo would like a friendship to form between them, but at least Mingyu would like to try. He paced towards the back, and turned right.

He was there. Wonwoo was there, leaning against the wall and reading another book. His eyes were dancing back and forth as he perused the words one by one. Mingyu swallowed the lump in his throat and went to greet him, hoping he wouldn't do anything ridiculous again.

He made a few steps forward and he cleared his throat. Wonwoo’s eyes snapped at him and Mingyu flinched slightly.

"Em hello." he said, smiling awkwardly.

"Good morning." Wonwoo folded the page of the book he was reading and closed it. "How are you?" he added as an afterthought.

"I'm fine, thank you..." Mingyu paused. "And you?!" he rushed.

"I am fine myself." Wonwoo replied.

Great, now what? At least Wonwoo seemed as lost as him. The knight smiled awkwardly.

"I'm glad..." Mingyu answered. An awkward silence stretched between them. Mingyu was fighting with his brain to find a good way to explain to Wonwoo why he asked him to meet again. But nothing came up, his brain was totally empty. What the hell was wrong with him? Usually he was the one who wouldn't shut up. What happened?

Wonwoo looked at the ground, looking as uncertain as Mingyu felt.

"So ummm did you need anything more from me? I could go back to the training grounds I guess..." he said unconfidently, and red alarms immediately rang in Mingyu’s brain.

"Yes... No! I'm… wait! Yes, I want. I would like well... to apologize one more time for drenching you... and for ruining your book..." Mingyu trailed off. "So I would like to give you something as an apology..." he said and smiled for approximately 1 second before he froze on the spot. He left the book to his room! Mingyu was convinced that the universe hated him. What was he going to do now? He had already dragged Wonwoo out of his training. He couldn't tell him to go back like that.

Opposite of him, Wonwoo’s interest seemed perked up.

"What's wrong?" he smiled encouragingly, as if watching Mingyu messing up so bad brought him back to familiar territory.

"Nothing... nothing is wrong..." Mingyu said, voice wavering. "So would you like me to give you the gift?" he asked shyly, as he was calculating his next moves. If Wonwoo gave him an affirmative answer, he should find a way first to convince him to come all the way to his room and second to remain unseen not only from Soonyoung, but from Minghao and Chan as well. If those two found out what he did they wouldn’t leave him at peace for a 100 years, the least.

"Ummm I guess so? If it would make you feel better, then of course." Wonwoo shrugged.

Mingyu let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Alright, Wonwoo said yes. Phase one was a success. Time for phase two.

"Alright then, follow me. But we must be quiet..." Mingyu said and started walking back at the castle’s gate.

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows, a little suspicious, but Mingyu didn’t blame him. He _was_ acting suspicious and Wonwoo had no other reason to trust him other than his first footman status. The knight must have been thinking something along those lines, because he looked at Mingyu up and down once and nodded to himself.

"Lead the way then." he said under his breath.

Mingyu made his way back silently with Wonwoo trailing behind him. At least they didn't have to go too far. Mingyu's room was at the end of the long hallway of the ground floor. They reached the gate and Mingyu slipped his head inside to see if someone happened to walk by. The coast was clear so he made a gesture to Wonwoo to follow him.

"We must be really really quiet okay?" the footman whispered as he started walking toward the wooden door of his room.

"But why?" Wonwoo whispered back. "Aren't you the first footman? Aren't you above these people?" he asked curiously.

"From some yes, from others though..." Mingyu made a face of horror as he recalled Soonyoung's angry outburst from the day before. "Not so much..." he explained shortly.

"Oh... Is that why we are hiding?" Wonwoo said looking behind his back to check that nobody was following them.

"Mostly..." Mingyu chuckled awkwardly. They finally reached his room after some excruciating moments. Mingyu opened the door and slipped in, quickly followed by the knight. He closed the door and sighed dramatically.

Mingyu’s shoulders slumped. He was so absorbed in his relief that everything had gone well, that he almost forgot he had a whole stranger in his private quarters. A stranger who was probably looking around and seeing every little detail of Mingyu’s room.

"For some reason," Wonwoo said and Mingyu jumped at the sound of his voice, "I expected your room to be messier."

Mingyu looked up." Should I be offended by that?" he asked without malice behind it.

Wonwoo laughed quietly. "I don't know. Is there a reason to be offended?" he said mischievously.

Mingyu swallowed his words and rubbed the back of his neck. Wonwoo chuckled again and walked a little closer to a shelf with books.

"You're attracted to the books, aren't you?" Mingyu noticed. Every time he had seen Wonwoo so far, he had been holding a book in his hands.

"I like reading. You probably think that is uncommon coming for a knight, but I have always liked books." Wonwoo said almost defensively, as if Mingyu was going to judge him for it.

“Why would it be uncommon?” Mingyu tilted his head.

“Ah, well… I guess it wouldn’t be for the people in your social circle.” Wonwoo’s shoulders relaxed. Seemingly comfortable again, he leaned over one particular book. On the cover there were a man and a woman, sitting atop a rock, their lips locked together rather passionately. Wonwoo suppressed a laugh, and Mingyu flushed red.

"I take it you like romance?" he simply said.

"Well, everyone has a different taste." Mingyu said, still blushing. "But those aren't only mine." he continued. "Some of them are Chan's, the princes’ valet, while others are Prince Minghao's..." Mingyu looked at his feet. "I don't read much."

"What a pity. I could recommend some books if you are ever interested. I have a long list of them that need to be read by people other than me. Nowadays, everyone is all about overrated romance novels like this one." Wonwoo tapped the book he saw before.

"I would love to hear that list one day." Mingyu nodded at him. "Speaking of books..." he continued walking towards his nightstand. "This..." he gestured the wrapped book "...is for you." he finished giving the gift to Wonwoo.

Wonwoo didn't react immediately. But then, his lips parted in surprise and closed again. He looked back up at Mingyu disbelievingly.

"For me? Really?" he asked.

"Yes." Mingyu urged him to take it. Wonwoo unwrapped the cloth and when he saw ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ he smirked.

"You remembered, thank you so much." he said and run his fingers on the coarse cover.

"It's nothing really. It's my apology to you." Mingyu said politely.

“It’s…” Wonwoo smiled down at the book, as if it was treasure he was holding. “People never give me books. They say it is not appropriate gift for a knight and…” Wonwoo let out a small sigh and didn’t finish his sentence. “Thank you, this is perfect.” he told Mingyu instead, eyes shining.

Mingyu felt pride swell in him. He had messed up, sure, but at least he had also done something nice for this knight, something to make him happy. Mingyu liked making people happy. After this, the awkwardness from before subsided a bit. Wonwoo put the book down on Mingyu's desk at his right and leaned over his small library again, looking less stiff.

"So if you don't read a lot, what do you usually do?" he asked absent mindedly, after checking all of his books.

“Cleaning, mostly." Mingyu said with a grimace of disgust. "Sometimes I also help around generally..." he added.

"Really? I thought these jobs were for the lower servants." Wonwoo observed.

"Well, it's a common thing around here to do as many things as you can, despite your title." Mingyu explained. "Besides, that makes all of us equals in a weird way, and also it gives us the opportunity to work without conflicts getting in our way."

"That's a strange concept. Has the king ordered this among all the high ranking staff?" Wonwoo looked back at him.

"I believe so... I never asked why this is happening so I don't know who decided to make the system work like that..." Mingyu shrugged.

"It's very interesting. It gives the common folk a sense of fairness. If they can relate to their rulers, they can follow them. Our ancestors have never tried doing that before." Wonwoo said skeptically.

"The king knows what he's doing." Mingyu winked.

He noticed how Wonwoo hesitated to agree. It wasn’t his place to ask Wonwoo about his political views right after he met him, but he couldn’t help but notice how Wonwoo’s reply was more neutral, aiming to change the subject.

"He definitely does, if he made you a first footman." he smiled. "Even though you dropped a bucket of water on me."

"It _was_ an accident I assure you! And please stop reminding me, I already feel like a total idiot..." the footman whined.

"It's okay, really, don't worry about that." Wonwoo laughed, clearly already over it. "Hey, that made me think, don't you have any work to do today? How come we can meet up so casually?"

Mingyu stiffened at that. He had totally forgotten about Minghao and Chan doing his chores. He was so caught up in his and Wonwoo's meeting that the fact that the Prince of Gisa was the one sweeping and mopping the throne room instead of himself slipped out of his mind. He just wished that his two friends were fine.

~*~

"Hyung, you have to squeeze the mop tighter to get rid of the extra water before you spread it to the floor. It will never dry like this." Chan patiently explained, while Minghao was struggling with the mop.

"I swear to God this is a devil's tool..." the prince replied as he was trying to do what the young valet advised him. "I'd rather study geometry and history than dealing with this thing." he huffed. "How the heck do you keep up with all that every day?" he asked, facing Chan.

"I don't usually do this either. I mostly clean clothes." Chan scrunched his nose. "But it's for Mingyu. Your highness must endure it." he smiled.

"You're right... I should." Minghao sighed. "But seriously I won't make fun of Mingyu's sweeping skills ever again... this is really hard." he said as he was pushing the mope to clean a stain on the floor.

Chan peeked out of the door carefully. They were switching places between cleaning and watching out for Soonyoung. They had to get as much work done as possible before the steward's checkup.

Minghao sighed. He was really hoping that Mingyu's meeting with the knight would come to a good result. Because if Mingyu screwed it up, Minghao would for sure choke him to death with that very mop. And what about Soonyoung! The steward couldn't have made their lives more difficult. Why staff evaluation all of a sudden? As a cue to his thoughts, two servants passed outside the ballroom's closed door talking.

"Soonyoung-ssi started the evaluation." said the first.

"Better finish up then.” answered the other.

Great... like his mind and Soonyoung couldn't be more in sync.

"Hyung!" Chan whispered-shouted "What do we do?! We haven't finished the throne room yet!" he shrieked.

Minghao scratched his chin thinking their moves carefully. The clock was ticking and they were running out of time.

"Hyung!?"

"Chan! Relax. We set the plan into motion!" Minghao said and abandoned his mopping stick. Without another word, he exited the room in search of the steward.

Soonyoung was located in the kitchen (what a surprise). He was holding a small notebook and a fountain pen, and he was writing down the things he was spotting as he observed the kitchen staff. Minghao cursed under his breath. What in the name of Lord? Had this ever happened before or was this one of his father's recent, brilliant ideas, to make their servants life more miserable?

Soonyoung had a pained expression on his face as well. Clearly, he wasn't the one who had decided this evaluation. After five minutes, the steward closed his notebook and made his way out of the kitchen. That was Minghao's cue to go. He straightened his clothes up and dusted his hair. He put on his slightly serious face and proceeded to get into Soonyoung's way, so he could buy more time for the young valet.

"Good morning Soonyoung hyung. What are you doing?" the prince greeted the steward.

"Good morning your highness. I'm doing a small evaluation." Soonyoung said pointing at his notebook.

Minghao noted he was a little stiffer than usual. He could use this opportunity to apologize for last day's cold behaviour. But he had to drag this for as long as possible, so Chan could get to his position.

"Evaluation? Has anyone been slacking off lately?" he asked.

"Well no... it is mostly for me to see how the work around here is done." Soonyoung said. "Also it is for me to know what to say to your father the next time he asks me." the steward darted his eyes trying to avoid Minghao's.

"So it's not about umm... Mingyu?" Minghao said pursing his lips.

Soonyoung stiffened even more at the mention of the first footman's name. Even though Soonyoung was not flat out saying it, it couldn’t be more obvious that this evaluation was for his best friend.

"It's not for him your highness... but he will be judged as well." the steward said softly.

"Look... I know we kind of messed up yesterday..." Minghao said a little awkwardly. "But it really wasn't his fault."

"I know it wasn't... but as I have already said, Mingyu just took a huge step forward. This thing is big, and I'm really proud. But he can't afford to slack off. If his majesty happened to pass by yesterday and saw the mess of cleaning tools on the ballroom's floor, Mingyu... maybe Mingyu would lose what he tried so hard to claim. That's why I'm being strict with him." Soonyoung lowered his head. "But I guess I overdid it yesterday."

"I also think I overdid it hyung... I don't want to use my power as an excuse to do whatever I want and mess up other people's work. I wasn't raised to be a brat like that." Minghao frowned.

"I don't blame you your highness. You just needed a break... And clearly Chan was occupied with something else... so you asked Mingyu... and Mingyu did what he had to do." Soonyoung smiled lightly. "On the contrary, I'm the one who should apologize to you for my irrational behavior..."

"Still, I feel like _I_ should apologize... Less as a prince and more as your friend." Minghao smiled slightly.

Minghao felt a little bad for lying to Soonyoung about the reason he had disturbed Mingyu from his work. And the fact that he was distracting him now so Mingyu could skip his work again. But his apology was sincere, and he had to do this for Mingyu.

Soonyoung smiled truly this time. "Your highness, thank you but I insist... you did nothing wrong."

_Good_ , Minghao thought, the steward was smiling at him again, everything should be back to normal.

"We are good then?" he said.

"Yes we are." the steward said and made a motion to continue his way towards the basement. That moment though, Minghao spotted Chan on top of the stairs. The valet had finished the cleaning on the second floor and was on his way to the basement. But to his misfortune, his boss had finished as well. So Chan had frozen on his spot as he saw Soonyoung and Minghao at the flathead talking.

Minghao instinctively looked up and saw the young valet with panicked eyes. He should have had the time to finish the upper room and rush down to the basement, why was he in front of them?!

And Soonyoung was right next to him, what was he going to do?!

"Hyung!" he yelled and grabbed Soonyoung's cheeks with his palms, facing his head away from Chan, and in front of his own face. "I am really sorry!" he shouted. "Please forgive me!"

Soonyoung looked Minghao with confusion. His small eyes opened wide as his face was squeezed between the prince's hands. Chan got the message and ran, quickly and silently, down the stairs and towards his trough.

"Your highness I told you," the steward tried to say with his cheeks almost inside his mouth, "we are good." he finished removing Minghao's hands.

Minghao was blushing from embarrassment. Mingyu owed him so much. At least Chan was out of eyesight.

"Okay... Just making sure." he smiled painfully.

"Alright then. If you excuse me now, I'm heading for the basement." Soonyoung said, flashing another quick smile. "Would you like to join me?" the steward asked.

"Wait, why the basement?" Minghao asked curiously, trying to hold Soonyoung back as much as possible.

"I'm going to see Chan. He is a servant as well, your highness." Soonyoung breathed out. "I know he is doing a great job, as the perfectionist he is, but I can't exclude him."

"Oh. Alright then. I will leave you to it." Minghao smiled and nodded, turning to leave.

"Have a nice day your highness!" Soonyoung said a little louder. With a big smile and having regained his energy, he made a beeline to the basement to find the little valet.

The moment Soonyoung was out of eyesight Minghao bolted up the stairs, all the way to the second floor. He had so much to do before Chan came back.

"Stage one complete, on to stage two." he murmured before reclaiming his mop and scrubbing the floor with new fervour.

~*~

"And that is pretty much my entire schedule..." Mingyu laughed bitterly and at this point, Wonwoo could more than sympathize with him. "As you see it isn't something interesting but it's my job and I'm obligated to do it." he said facing the knight who was now sitting on his desk's chair.

"And I thought I had it tough." Wonwoo said pityingly. "The hardest thing is training, especially for us that are younger. We live in way too peaceful times, and I suspect that even general Jihoon doesn't know what to do with our newest knights yet." he added.

"So what do you do except from training?" Mingyu asked curious.

"Hmmm let me think..." Wonwoo hummed contemplatively, putting his chin on his hand. "I mostly guard buildings and gates and generally important places. When I have a shift at the palace's or the town's gate, I check whoever comes in or out. But usually, I'm just standing there. People at this part of the town rarely try to break the laws. Sometimes though, I go on patrols at the west side and the port. Things are a little bit wilder there." Wonwoo pursed his lips.

"Well that's interesting!" Mingyu exclaimed. "You actually do something. I'm just sitting around following orders and sweeping floors." he said disappointed. "To tell you the truth though, I wouldn't do anything if I wasn't here. So I'm thankful and discreet." he sighed.

"You don't like your position?" Wonwoo said attentively.

"No I like it, a lot actually." Mingyu said. "But honestly sometimes I think to myself... what would have happened if I wasn't raised to become a first footman, if I became something else?" Mingyu sighed.

"What did you do before you came to the castle?" Wonwoo asked.

"Well nothing much, since I came here when I was five years old." Mingyu snorted.

"Oh, that is really young. I didn't come here until I was eleven." Wonwoo replied.

"Well I practically grew up here, beside prince Minghao and his valet Chan." Mingyu recalled. “We have been together ever since I can remember myself. We played around the entire town with an army of knights guarding us.” Mingyu chuckled fondly at the memories. “We have stepped on every little stone in this castle, and this is not an exaggeration. We used to be so energetic.”

"So you like the palace, huh? Do you want to spend your entire life here?" Wonwoo asked.

"I don't know... I've never been outside since I came here. I guess I could say that I would like one day to see what's like behind the town's walls." Mingyu answered. "Prince Minghao always read stories about the small towns outside the capital. Or about the mountains and forests that decorate our land, together with valleys full of beautiful flowers." the footman said dreamily. "I would love to discover if all these stories are actually true."

Wonwoo smiled. About an hour has passed and he found it was exceptionally easy to talk to Mingyu. The footman was perched on his bed, talking softly about his life. Wonwoo was surprisingly interested and comfortable. For once, he felt like talking about himself a bit more.

"I was born inside the town." he said. "My parents were from the west side. They were fishermen. They wanted a better life for me though, so they sent me here when they heard that the palace was recruiting knight trainees." he said. "The only times I've been outside these walls were because of training expeditions."

"Really?! You've been outside!" Mingyu said, surprise obvious in his voice. “What is it like there?"

"It's nothing much. We've only ever been to forests and mountains to exercise. I haven't visited any town other than ours." Wonwoo said and Mingyu pouted disappointed.

"Pity..." the footman said and silence filled the room.

Wonwoo stared out of the window. There wasn't much of a view, but the sun was shining brightly.

"I would like to travel by boat and visit another country one day. Like my parents always did." he said and turned to look at Mingyu. The footman was already watching him.

"My parents were farmers outside of the town. So I don't know much about sea traveling." Mingyu said absent-mindedly. "But another country sounds interesting."

"How do you think they are like? Do they have the same clothes, the same food?" Wonwoo asked.

"Maybe...I don't know." the footman answered. "But I would like to find out some day."

"I hope one day we do." Wonwoo smiled.

"Yes me too..." Mingyu said quietly looking outside of his bedroom's window. The garden was visible from there along with a part of the path that Wonwoo trailed the other day when the accident happened. Something flashed in Mingyu's eyes and he turned to face the knight, smiling. "Have you ever be inside the royal garden?" he asked.

Wonwoo hummed affirmatively. "I escorted the royal family in there once... I mostly guard it though." he shrugged.

"Well..." Mingyu said, a mischievous grin forming on his lips. "Would you like to go inside again?"

Wonwoo perked up at that. "You mean with you? I mean... I am usually not allowed there..." he said, clearly interested.

"Well, _I_ am, so… Would you like to sneak in?" the footman said, blushing a little.

The rational part of Wonwoo knew that they really shouldn't sneak in. Mingyu was already pushing his luck, judging by the way they were trying to slip to his room undetected. But... sneaking in the gardens? That sounded something that he really wanted to do. All those pretty flowers, the trees and… the cyclamens. He wanted to see them again. And when would he ever find a person like Mingyu to accompany him in such a strange wish? He felt his logic jumping out of the window as he smirked at the footman.

"I would love to sneak in."

"Great, just follow me." Mingyu said, standing up from his bed. The two companions exited the palace as quickly and quietly, the same way they had entered it one hour ago. With Mingyu leading the way, they passed the courtyard and made a beeline towards the royal garden trying not to be spotted.

Wonwoo was excited. He was strangely excited. He had no idea that this day would come to this. He just thought of his meeting with the footman as another obligation he had to take care of. But nobody had prepared him for this rush of excitement. He wasn't even nervous. Mingyu suddenly stopped behind a wall and the knight giggled quietly as he tried not to crush onto him.

"What happened?" Wonwoo whispered.

"The groom master is in the stables." he whispered.

"Aren't you supposed to outrank the groom master?" Wonwoo grabbed Mingyu's arm to lean over him and see the man they were apparently trying to avoid.

Mingyu flinched a little at the sudden contact, but he quickly came around. "No... not from him." he laughed awkwardly. "But I can convince him not to say anything." he trailed off, glancing at the knight’s hands.

Wonwoo quickly took his hands back when he felt the footman stiffen. He hadn't even realised he had grabbed him. He tried to fight the embarrassment away by asking the most obvious question.

"How can you convince him to let us do something illegal?"

"He’s... an old friend." the footman said. “He knows me since I first came here. He can do me this small favour, I think." the footman said, not looking certain at all.

"I seriously hope you can. I would like to keep my head, and if the general finds out about this I feel like it would be in danger." Wonwoo said, only half worried.

He somehow felt he could trust Mingyu.

"Don't worry I can handle it." the footman said making his way towards the stables, Wonwoo trailing behind him.

When they reached close to the stables’ door they saw the master of the stables cleaning some saddles up. Reaching his ear shot, Mingyu cleared his throat.

"Morning Hoseok hyung!"

Hoseok jumped up in fright and surprise.

"Mingyu! Oh my god you scared me! Hello, hello how are you?" he greeted and waved at Wonwoo.

"I'm fine hyung. How have you been? I see you have more horses than usual." the footman said pointing at the filled stable.

"It's because of the new knights, right? My friend said something about dropping his horse at the stable the other day." Wonwoo said, trying not to appear rude by not talking.

"Exactly." Hoseok said pointing at Wonwoo. "Twenty new knights came yesterday together with their horses of course." the head groom informed them. "My stable is full now and I'm running out of helping hands. But what are you two doing here at this hour?" Hoseok asked, giving a pointed look at Mingyu.

Wonwoo turned to look at Mingyu as well. Would Hoseok really let them pass? He seemed nice enough, but that didn't mean anything. It was all up to Mingyu to convince him.

"We were taking a walk around and we thought maybe we could stroll around the garden for a bit." the footman said, seemingly absentminded.

Hoseok looked at him a little strangely. "The garden? Ummm you have permission right?" he laughed kind of awkwardly.

"Em no we don't..." Mingyu said quietly.

Wonwoo internally face palmed. Was that really Mingyu’s brilliant plan?

Hoseok paused to look at them both. His eyes were going from Mingyu to Wonwoo and then to the ground, obviously feeling conflicted. Wonwoo instinctively pressed a little closer to the footman, feeling like a child waiting for his parents to make an important decision.

"Let me guess... Soonyoung doesn't know you're out... right?" he said arching an eyebrow.  
He then glanced at Wonwoo. "And neither does the general, if I assume you are a knight."

Both boys looked at the ground, shame clear on their features.

"Hyung, can you do us the favour?" Mingyu said slowly.

Hoseok sighed.

"You know I will, Mingyu. Please don't sneak out a lot though. And be careful! Honestly, such a dangerous thing to do! You are lucky I have a soft spot for you." he said and slapped the footman on the shoulder.

Mingyu brighten up at that. He flashed a smile, showing his long canines.

"Hyung I owe you so much! Thank you really!"

Wonwoo didn’t know how this worked, but it somehow did. He bowed at the groom master, grateful, but still not believing Mingyu had gotten away with breaking rules simply because he was likeable.

"Thank you, we promise to be careful." he said to the groom master, feeling like the responsible one in this situation.

"Alright, alright, off you go." Hoseok said, making a gesture to dismiss them gently. "And Mingyu, I'm not going to say anything to Soonyoung, nor general Jihoon. But please remain unseen..." Hoseok warned him.

Wonwoo was looking amazed between the footman and the groom. Such trust was not easy to come by, was it? Still, Mingyu smiled at him reassuringly. They were free to proceed.

"Let's go." Mingyu headed towards the royal garden’s big iron door.

Wonwoo hastily followed, but he was definitely quieter than the other. "We are supposed to be sneaking in Mingyu, slow down! There are guards at the front entrance.” he said when the footman turned to look at him.

"Right sorry... I was carried away." Mingyu whispered back giving an apologetic smile to the knight. “Don’t tell this to anyone, but there is a back door!” Mingyu said with puppy-like enthusiasm.

That was new information to Wonwoo. How many hours of his days had he spent making sure that the garden was safe, only to find out there was another entrance that was apparently unguarded? It annoyed him a little, but at the same time, it was fortunate for them right now.

Mingyu walked much slower this time, allowing Wonwoo to catch up. The pair reached the secret gate silently. And okay, there was _no way_ Wonwoo could have realized this was a gate if he hadn’t known about it. Long, thick vines were wrapped around it, making every trace of metal disappear. They twisted so artfully, that they had managed to make the door blend perfectly with its surroundings.

Mingyu passed his hand between the gate's railings and pulled the latch. He pushed slowly so they could enter. The hinges cricked upon the pressure, testament of how old and unable to be maintained this door was. They slipped carefully inside, closing the gate behind them.

When inside, Wonwoo turned his head back to look at that door from behind. It was still hard to be spotted. Even if someone found it by accident while walking outside and then didn’t remember the exact spot it was in, they would be forced to exit the garden from the main gate, and therefore make their presence known to the guards.

It made sense, in a way, that this little door existed without any guard’s knowledge. Sometimes even members of the royal family didn't want to be seen, he assumed. The real surprise though was when he turned his eyes to the inside of the garden. He had never been in that place before. The back of the garden was so different from the front.

While the first thing to greet someone when they entered from the official gate was an extravagant sight, full of trees and blooming flowers, the back was much more timid and soft. There were no vibrant colours here, neither imposing trees. The bushes barely reached his knees and the blooming plants had tiny flowers on them, in earthly colours. The path that lead to the deeper parts of the enclosure was simply a dirt road, small and easily lost from the sight, not a pebble one with lanterns that could fit at least five people walking together, like in the front. Generally, while the front part of the royal garden was made to impress, both visiting counts and higher status visitors, the back was much more private. And Wonwoo liked quiet, private places. He was speechless at the sight before him.

"This place is prince Minghao's. He comes here when he wants to have his privacy. It's isolated from the rest of the garden and formed based on his liking." Mingyu explained as they were walking through the short bushes. "The earthly colors and the thick foliar helps him to calm down and make peace with his inner self." he waved his hand around. " At least that's what he says..." he laughed quietly.

"The prince sounds like a decent person." Wonwoo said absentmindedly touching some twigs protruding from a bush. "I always hear about what a great king he will make one day."

"Well, he won't be like his father that's for sure..." the footman answered more to himself than his company.

"His father was far from a bad king though. How are they different?" Wonwoo asked walking closer to where Mingyu was standing.

"Look, the king is far from bad but he’s not completely nice either." Mingyu said. "But I shouldn't get into more details.... it’s the prince's private life after all."

"Right. I'm sorry for intruding." Wonwoo hurriedly said.

It was easy making conversation with Mingyu, Wonwoo noticed again. It had been so long since he was carried away by talking, not having to carefully think before saying something. Maybe the first footman was in a position to have some power over him, but watching him sneaking around all day, scared of his superiors, gave Wonwoo a sense of equality.

"Should we start walking? What part of the garden do you prefer, that or the front?" Wonwoo added.

"Let's just stay here... I don't want to come face to face with another knight. I'm too young to die from a heart attack." Mingyu whined a little.

Wonwoo laughed, his nose scrunching.

"What, do you have some kind of knight fetish?" he teased.

"Excuse you! I'm allowed to admire strong people. Everyone needs a role model in their lives, thank you very much." Mingyu said offended, red cheeks standing out.

"That's flattering. I feel we knights are quite normal employees. What is it you admire about us?" Wonwoo said, smile never dropping. He felt appreciated for once.

"There are so many things... I don't know." Mingyu said, blushing even harder. "You have prestige and you naturally inspire trust to commoner. You train every day just to protect our kingdom. Everyone loves you. You're a symbol that kids look up to, and many grown-ups want to become like you. I-I used to be one of them." the footman trailed off.

Wonwoo laughed amused. He didn't think that being a knight was as amazing as Mingyu was making it out to be. Compliments like these never made him feel particularly proud, but maybe this time was different. Maybe because Mingyu had a higher position, it felt good to be recognized by him. Maybe because Mingyu said all those nice things while Wonwoo was breaking rules, therefor not showing an exemplary behaviour as he was usually expected to.

There was something else though. The sight of Mingyu blushing and stuttering about how amazing knights were, was honestly... cute. Wonwoo had no other way to explain it. He smiled fondly at the footman.

"We are just normal people you know. We are not different." he said lightly.

"I know that now..." Mingyu said another blush creeping up on his face. "But you're still pretty cool... with your armors and all...."

Wonwoo laughed again. How was it that a big and handsome man like Mingyu could be as innocent and endearing as a child?

"How old are you Mingyu?" Wonwoo asked sitting down at a bench and putting his head on his palms, smile never faltering.

"I became 20 this year." Mingyu said, sitting beside the knight.

"Oh, I am one year older than you. You can call me hyung." Wonwoo said, still looking at the younger fondly.

Mingyu started coughing, saliva going down the wrong pipe from the shock. Wonwoo pat him in the back encouragingly. Had he been too quick to get familiar with the footman? Maybe he overstepped his boundaries, but he couldn’t help feeling comfortable with the younger.

"Please don't die on me." he said as Mingyu started breathing normally again.

"I'm honestly trying not to." the other cleared his throat.

"Come on, say it." Wonwoo nudged him playfully.

"W-Wonwoo h- hyu- hyung..." Mingyu said, screaming after. He buried his face in his hands, muttering something like _I can’t believe I just did that._

Wonwoo felt something warm bloom inside him. Mingyu really was cute, he decided as he patted his thigh.

"There, not so hard was it?" he said.

"Please leave me alone..." Mingyu whined.

"If this is what you really want." Wonwoo got up and pretended to take a step away from the bench.

"No wait!" Mingyu said quickly, grabbing his hand to stop him. "I didn't.... mean it literally..." he voiced quietly, rose cheeks visible again. Was it even healthy to be blushing so much for so long?

Wonwoo glanced at their linked hands and at Mingyu's flushed face and felt a little self-conscious. As he sat back down, maybe he was blushing too. He quietly took his hand back and tried to think of something to say before things became awkward.

Mingyu, probably thinking the exact same thing, beat him to it. "So... what's your opinion about general Jihoon? Is he giving you such a hard time as he gives us?" he asked, a bit awkwardly, but Wonwoo was thankful none the less.

"General Jihoon ummm..." Wonwoo struggled to focus on the conversation and ignore whatever happened a few moments ago. "If you remain on his good side, he is usually fine. Contrary to popular opinion, he is not angry all the time. He is usually grumpy whenever he does something outside of his routine though, so this is why everyone is scared of him."

"Well, it's hard not to. Especially when he threatens you by throwing everything that's in his reach. And I don't know why it always happens that fountain pens or letter openers are around him." Mingyu said, his hands flying all over the place.

"That is why us knight have such good reflexes." Wonwoo joked.

"What about us though? We aren't trained to avoid flying objects! Cut us some slack!" Mingyu whined.

"Well, I hear the steward is pretty strict too. Is it him you were hiding from earlier?" Wonwoo said, crossing his legs and sitting further back on the bench.

"Was that so obvious?" Mingyu answered quietly.

"Yes it was. Also you didn’t answer my question before. How come we are here now? Don't you have anything to do today?" Wonwoo asked.

Mingyu bit his lip. He was hesitant to reveal this little information for some reason, which only made Wonwoo more curious. Mingyu was clearly debating with himself if he should answer properly, and Wonwoo was just about to tell him that it was okay if it was a private matter, but again, Mingyu beat him to it.

"I had things to do..." he simply voiced.

"You _had_?" Wonwoo repeated.

Mingyu sighed. "Yes I _had_... but another servant covered for me. I woke up early in the morning, did most of my job and then I went to take your book. By the time I got back it was already 11:30. So Chan, the prince's valet willingly took my place and did the rest of my duties. " Mingyu said, eyes not meeting Wonwoo’s.

"That's very kind of him, you have such a good friend. You really owe him." Wonwoo voiced. "I feel a little guilty though, making you go through all this trouble." _Just so you can meet plain old me,_ Wonwoo added in his thoughts.

"Well, I was the one to ask you to meet me again, wasn’t I? It's alright. You don't have to worry." Mingyu dissipated his guilt, just like that.

Without feeling guilty, all there was left to feel was kind of dumbstruck from the effort Mingyu has put into this meeting. He was touched, he couldn’t hide it. Luckily, the footman didn’t see the expression he was making as he realized this, because he was staring back at the castle with a somewhat worried look.

“I hope Soonyoung hyung hasn’t caught Min- Chan yet.” he said, biting his lip.

~*~

"And you are coming to his highness' birthday alone? How come, hyung?" Chan yelled as he and Soonyoung climbed the stairs up, approaching the room Minghao was cleaning.

The prince hurriedly dragged the cleaning equipment to the next room. He hadn't quite finished the first room, but that was okay. They needed Soonyoung to check each room Mingyu was supposed to be in multiple times, to see that progress was made every time he came back. The plan was that Soonyoung wouldn’t directly evaluate Mingyu, but the actions he allegedly completed.

"Should I come with someone else...? And why are you yelling Channie?" Minghao heard Soonyoung answer.

"Oh, I am sorry, I got a bit carried away that's all. I am surprised that such a handsome and accomplished hyung as you doesn’t court anyone." Chan’s laugh followed.

Minghao peeked through the door of his living room. Soonyoung and his valet were standing outside the throne room’s door. Good. Everything was going according to their plan.

"Well I'm flattered, but unfortunately no-one has caught your hyung's eye, my little duckling." the steward voiced, ruffling Chan's hair as he moved him aside so he could enter the room. He made a motion for Chan to follow, but the younger shook his head.

"It’s alright hyung, I have to get going too. I’ll see you around!" Chan declined politely and closed the door behind the steward.

Minghao watched the younger practically bolting towards him. The prince opened the door letting, Chan inside.

"Soonyoung hyung is right in the next room, everything is going well!" Chan took the mop from him and began pushing all the items to the hallway.

"That's great, I will keep him here as long as possible. The next room should be almost ready right?" Minghao sighed wiping his hands on his pants and assuming a casual pose.

"We cleaned the throne room and just finished your living room.” Chan listed. “Next stop your dressing room, your highness." he declared and exited through the door again, waving at Minghao.

"Good." Minghao rubbed his hands together in anticipation and made himself comfortable atop a couch. He had to look like he was causally laying around in his room. Chan had also prepared a tray of tea, to help him with the set up. The prince took a book that was laying beside him, pretending that he was absorbed in it, when the living room's door opened, revealing the blond steward.

"Oh, your majesty... I didn't know you were here." Soonyoung exclaimed bowing.

"Oh, hello Soonyoung hyung. What brings you here?" Minghao decided to play clueless.

"I’m continuing my evaluation. I came to see how Mingyu is doing." Soonyoung answered, shuffling inside.

"Oh yeah, Mingyu was cleaning here earlier." Minghao said with fake nonchalance.

"He was?" Soonyoung questioned. "Well, where is he now?"

"I don't know... He should be around here somewhere." Minghao shrugged and for his next lines he deployed all his acting skills "I umm... I needed to be alone for a while..." he said quietly.

He hoped Soonyoung cared enough to ask him about it.

"Is there something wrong your highness?" Soonyoung asked gently.

Minghao pursed his lips tight. "I... I shouldn't hold you back from your job hyung..." he voiced, making his face fall with fake sadness.

"Don't worry about that." the steward waved him off. "Tell me what troubles you." he continued, sitting across Minghao on an armchair.

_Soonyoung is way too nice_ , Minghao thought bitterly. He felt guilty that he was deceiving him. He really didn't want to lie anymore.

"Actually hyung, it's not something specific. I have been thinking lately... how pointless is all this?" he commented gesturing around.

"You mean the royal palace or your position my prince" Soonyoung questioned, crossing his legs.

"Well... Everything. What are we living for hyung? We will always remain here in this palace. We will rule over people, we will try to make them happy. Is that all there is to life?" he said and slightly alarmed, he noticed that his heartbeat was quickening.

Maybe he took this conversation way too seriously. Was he bottling his emotions up so much that they poured out with every given opportunity? That was not something he would allow.

"Honestly my prince, I don't know what you expect me to say.” Soonyoung looked bewildered. “But I'll tell you this. No-one is forcing anyone to do anything. Every human makes their own decisions. Either they are good or bad. Kings and Queens exist merely to provide peace and order to their people. That's why they apply rules. To keep everyone safe..." Soonyoung explained messily, threading a hand through his hair.

"What even is good and bad hyung? How do you define it?" the prince couldn't help but ask.

"That's a question that one like me cannot answer your highness." the steward said, a tight smile curling on his lips.

"I guess it isn't." Minghao grinned back. "I'm sorry I burdened you, honestly I wasn't planning on going all philosophical on you." he sighed.

"It was nothing, my prince. An interesting break from my boring routine..." Soonyoung answered, standing from his seat. "I should probably get going though, I have an evaluation to finish."

"Right, the evaluation, I keep forgetting." Minghao chuckled, internally praising his acting skills.

"So, until later your highness..." Soonyoung bowed again before he exited the room.

When the steward was out of the door, Minghao shook his head, getting himself out of the sudden depressive mood. He had a job to do. He quickly went to his private room and found Chan finishing it up.

"Soonyoung hyung should be in the dressing room next doors. Let's hide these and get out of here for the next part of the plan." he whispered pointing at the cleaning equipment.

"Yes, let's go." Chan said and with quick moves they hid the mops and the brooms under the bed. They exited carefully and quietly.

They practically run down the stairs as they heard Soonyoung entering the next room, murmuring displeased. When they reached the first floor, they waited for a few moments before Minghao hid in the lounge and Chan went back upstairs to face the steward once more.

Minghao held his breath, ears on alert so he could eavesdrop.

"Hyung!" Chan’s shouting came a minute later. He had found Soonyoung. "I heard Seokjin asked for you in the kitchen!"

"What... why what happened!?" Soonyoung rushed out, clearly surprised by the chef’s sudden request to see him.

"I don't know. I heard something about wrong spices... Oh didn't you go out to get him spices the other day?" Chan voiced then.

"What! That can't be right... I was extra careful when I picked them up!" Soonyoung exclaimed, offense and a pinch of fear lacing his voice. "This is ridiculous..." he continued mumbling to himself making his way towards the staircase.

Minghao waited for a while more. He really hated lying to the steward. But well, it was a white lie. He would have to make it up to him later. When he was sure that Soonyoung had passed the first floor, he exited the lounge, running immediately up the stairs. He saw Chan waiting on the stair’s landing and together they got back to work. Stage two was beginning.

~*~

"I've never thought that a book could be so interesting..." Mingyu admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

They had started a discussion about literature and poetry, but Wonwoo had smoothly succeeded in turning the conversation towards his books again.

"Yes, it is really interesting. And it is different when I explain it to you from when you actually feel it. The way you can relate to certain sentences, to understand what the writer is trying to say... For a fleeting second you get to experience what another person felt. It is a beautiful form of communication!" Wonwoo said enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling.

Mingyu watched the amusement swimming in his gaze. He tingling sensation at the bottom of his stomach for a while now, but he chose to ignore it so he could continue their conversation now that the atmosphere was not so tense.

"Maybe I should start reading more then..." Mingyu thought out loud.

"I can make you another list. Maybe the one I have is a bit too heavy for a beginner." Wonwoo hummed thoughtfully. "You know, books say a lot about one's personality. I wonder what type of books _you_ would like."

"I wonder that as well..." Mingyu chuckled. He hadn't questioned his own taste in books before, so he didn't know how to answer Wonwoo’s statement. "What do you believe would suit me?"

"Well." Wonwoo laughed. "You like romance, don't even deny it!" he pointed at him just as Mingyu was ready to protest. "Judging from the few books I saw in your room, you read the light kind of it, nothing near tragic dramas. I guess that would make you a dreamy person. You like to idolize certain feelings, because you haven't felt them yet. Basically, you love love. The reason why young girls are usually the intended audience or light romance is just because they are inexperienced in love and life. But it isn't a matter of age or gender. If you are inexperienced, optimistic and like to fantasize, then light romance is the book genre for you." Wonwoo said thoughtfully. "Wait I don't mean you are immature or ignorant though! Please don't take it like that." he added.

Mingyu gapped at him. Just how many things did this knight know? It was remarkable. He literally described a part of Mingyu's personality only by looking at his bookshelf. Though the "little girls" reference was a little offending. Just a little... But he wouldn’t show it.

"I don't think you are like a little girl at all. You are so tall, and broad and manly I would never confuse you... I mean..." Wonwoo trailed off, likely sensing Mingyu’s discomfort. "Oh my god, that was also weird, please ignore me!" he said horrified, hiding his face with his palms.

Mingyu laughed so hard at Wonwoo's red ear tips. This was amazing. Who would have thought that the knight had a side like that? Flustered and embarrassed. Two adjectives that Mingyu would never use to describe Wonwoo. Yet here he was, cheeks red like a tomato.

"Don't worry I’m not offended…" the footman waved him off. A justifiable lie to spare the knight’s feelings.

Wonwoo smiled back at him, a slight pink dusting his cheekbones.

"You should guess something about me too." Wonwoo suggested. "I have been guessing traits of your personality all day. What do you think about me?" he asked, clearly interested in the subject. 

Uh oh. Dead end. Could really Mingyu find something accurate about Wonwoo...? The only thing Mingyu knew so far was that he was madly in love with his bookshelf and the peace that guarding the garden provided him. But he couldn’t quite say nothing either. That would be rude. So he followed his guts and proceed to give the knight an answer.

"Well, I'm not so good at this so I’m warning you... If I say something stupid, you're free to scold me." he took a deep breath. "From where I see it, you’re a peace lover. You like the silence and isolation. You don't choose to interact much with people that's why you prefer books. They give you the things that you're looking for, like learning things and sharpening your mind. I believe that you're also a secret dreamer. You seek the places you want to see in real life in your books..." Mingyu paused." That's what I think..." he blushed, trapping his lower lip between his teeth.

Wonwoo leaned back against the bench contemplatively. "Yet here I am." he said more to himself than Mingyu. He then looked back at the footman, ruffling his hair. "You are not that bad at this you know, you should give more credit to yourself." he advised.

"Really? Did I get something?" Mingyu asked surprised.

"I guess you did. Considering I've been talking about books nonstop, I would have been surprised if you didn't think I love them more than humans." Wonwoo laughed. "And the um… dreaming part. I like dreaming too." he added a bit more self-consciously.

"There's nothing wrong with dreaming. Lots of people do that, including me. Even the prince keeps dreaming." Mingyu voiced, trying to get Wonwoo to open up a little more.

"It's a little weird..." Wonwoo insisted obviously unsure.

"I think is incredible. Being a dreamer means you put yourself in different situations at time and you learn how to adjust in them. You can create a whole world _. Your_ world. The one and only that is based on your creativity and your own rules." Mingyu took a deep breath. "Prince Minghao said that one day he wants to leave this place. And frankly I would like to follow him so much. But we can't. He is the prince and I'm his servant. That's why we keep dreaming about it." the footman explained, looking at the sky.

Wonwoo hummed thoughtfully. "I wouldn't want to leave this place permanently. Sure, I would like to travel, but my home is here. It would take a very serious reason for me to leave." he said.

"It's okay, everyone seeks something different. I guess we just want a simpler life." Mingyu shrugged with a grin. His eyes travelled towards the sky, dancing around the fluffy clouds that drifted away.

He felt the knight fidgeting beside him. Mingyu could probably predict a few questions that were swirling around the knight’s mind. Like, why would prince Minghao dream of leaving his kingdom? Was it possible that the crowned prince and one of the highest-ranking servants were not happy with their positions? Was it really fair for them to ache for more, since they practically lived a life of luxury?

Eventually he heard Wonwoo inhaling in determination. He was ready to ask. "Mingyu I have to ask... Why would you leave?"

"That's a really good question hyung..." Mingyu said, his voice soft. "I don't want you to misunderstand me, I like my job and my position in the royal palace. I worked my whole life for it and I don't mean to take it lightly." the footman heaved a sigh. "But I've always wondered how my life would be if I wasn't the prince's servant and if his Highness wasn't my prince. We would be two ordinary men, not afraid to laugh together, to play with each other, to speak freely without hiding our friendship from the world just because we are a servant and a royal..." Mingyu exhaled again, his eyes falling on Wonwoo’s face. "We would be free. Don't you think?"

Wonwoo’s eyes swam with an amount of different emotions before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Yeah, but you also would have to worry about survival.” he started. “You would have to work hard in order to have a place to stay and eat. Food wouldn’t be served in the kitchen anytime you felt hungry. We live in better times, but still, life outside the castle is definitely not as easy as inside it. Especially if you are not even in the town. Would it really be worth it?" Wonwoo asked him, crooking a questioning eyebrow.

"I don't know... Maybe one day I will find out? Who knows?" Mingyu shrugged and then he laughed. The conversation had taken a very serious road, something that he didn't want, so he tried to lighten up the mood a little.

"Well, let me ask you something else. What's your... favourite food?" Lame question, but it started a more pleasurable conversation.

Wonwoo tilted his head confused. "Ummm." he scrunched his nose. "I like pomegranates, I guess?"

"Pomegranates ha... Interesting. Though they are a _fruit_ and not a food, I will accept it as an answer." Mingyu nodded.

"I like fruits what's wrong with that?" Wonwoo bumped his shoulder playfully.

"Nothing wrong, I figured you're a nutritional person..." Mingyu laughed at Wonwoo’s slightly dejected face.

"What's that supposed to mean? Am I too thin?" Wonwoo faked being offended.

"Hmmm let me take a look..." the footman said, scanning Wonwoo comically from head to toe.   
"I would say average...?"

"Yeah, we can't all have your extremely above average build mister first footman." Wonwoo nudged him again.

"I worked hard for that too you know. But I stopped exercising a couple of years ago." he explained. "Too much sweeping and dusting.”

"So apart from the good looks, you are also housewife material. Good to know." Wonwoo teased and Mingyu gasped.

"Hey! I'm an employee not a landlady! There's a difference!" he shrieked.

Wonwoo laughed. "I know, I know, sorry." he gave a gentle smile.

Mingyu couldn’t stay mad. "Shall we take a walk?" he suggested before getting up to stretch. "My back is killing me..." he whined.

"Sure. I feel like exploring." Wonwoo got up behind him.

The started walking again, wandering around the garden's paths. Mingyu felt calmness settling inside him, bones and nerves relaxing as they took a break from his exhausting everyday routine.

"So what's _your_ favourite food?" it was the knight’s turn to ask.

"I like meat. In various forms actually. But my favourite is a recipe that Seokjin hyung, our chef, makes using spicy paprika. He makes it mostly with pork and sometimes chicken, but I prefer the pork. It's delicious. Especially its feet." Mingyu said, eyes sparkling.

"That's sounds so fancy. I haven't even heard about it before." Wonwoo commented.

"I can cook it some time for you. I've learned the recipe by heart." the footman offered sweetly.

"So you can cook too, honestly, is there anything you can't do?" Wonwoo chuckled.

"I can't avoid trouble." Mingyu answered truthfully.

"Will cooking get you into trouble?"

"I can always cut myself you know..." he said absentmindedly.

"That's dangerous. I suppose you need supervision when cooking then?" Wonwoo replied suggestively.

"Supervision is always good. Especially since I'm so clumsy." he said, smirking.

"Do you have anyone in mind? Spicy paprika pork feet sound difficult to make." Wonwoo tilted his head.

"I don't know. I should probably find someone really careful. Someone who can foresee a mistake... someone serious... someone... like emm you?" Mingyu said, blushing. "I told you I would cook for you, so why not?" he continued, scratching his head.

Wonwoo chuckled. "I'm flattered. I would be honored to help you. Whenever we have a free schedule again yes? No more making your friends do your duties for you." Wonwoo scolded.

"Deal." the footman answered, winking.

~*~

Soonyoung took a deep breath, peeking his eyes inside the kitchen. He watched Seokjin move around as he prepared the meat for the lunch. Soonyoung dreaded to step through the door. The royal chef was holding one of his sharp knives, using it to cut the meat in small pieces. The steward really hoped that it wasn’t also meant for him.

Thus, he reminded to himself to keep some distance between himself and the chef as he shuffled inside the kitchen. The steward walked closer to Seokjin, taking a deep breath before lifting his gaze.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked.

Seokjin looked up from his chopping board startled. "Soonyoung-ssi? Umm no, I don’t remember that." he arched an eyebrow. "What's wrong? I could have lost a finger back there."

"Chan told me you wanted to see me. Something about me buying wrong spices again." Soonyoung explained, tilting his head.

Seokjin checked around him carefully at all the small bottles and boxes. "No, I am pretty sure you got the right ones _this time_." he said pointedly.

"What… but, but... Are you sure?!"

"Yes. I don't know where Chan heard that, but it wasn't from me." the chef made a confused face.

Soonyoung was _really_ confused. How did Chan-? Then it clicked. That little...

"Alright... thank you Seokjin-ssi. I got to go now, I have an evaluation to finish." Soonyoung gave a tight smile at the royal chef and made a 180 degree turn, heading straight at the second floor.

Leaving the kitchen, he didn't forget to check the clock. Two o'clock. Perfect. He was running late. And all that because of Chan's broken ears.

"Don't kill Chan, Soonyoung." Seokjin shouted behind him.

"I don't promise that!" the steward echoed as he closed the door.

Soonyoung was equally pissed and confused. Why did Chan do that? Did he really mishear? Now he had to hurry and cover up the time he lost. This evaluation was turning into a disaster. He grumbled and cursed under his breath, making his way up the grand staircase.

"Oh Soonyoung-ssi!" a new voice was heard from the castle’s entrance, halting his steps.

Soonyoung swallowed down his annoyance and turned with a forced smile.

"Hello Hoseok. We have finished with your evaluation. What do you need?" he asked, mildly irritated.

"Wow what happened and you're on a rush?" the head groom said, backing out a little at the mini outburst.

Soonyoung sighed. "I’m sorry, but Chan did something stupid and now I am late. I need to evaluate Mingyu and go back to my office for the report." he huffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, I thought you had already finished with the evaluation. Isn't it two already?" Hoseok asked, tilting his head.

"It is, but I keep getting interrupted. I may have picked a bad day for that blasted evaluation." Soonyoung smiled bitterly.

"Uh-huh... to tell you the truth, you seem pretty tired Soonyoung-ssi. Did something happen?" Hoseok voiced concerned.

Soonyoung immediately thought of the previous night. He hadn't slept well and apparently that had taken a toll on him. He couldn't say that to Hoseok though, the groom would ask questions, and he was in a hurry.

"I had to talk a bit with our prince, that's what took most of my time. And now Chan made me go to the kitchen for no apparent reason. And I still haven't seen Mingyu..." Soonyoung trailed off, suddenly getting suspicious. "Do you think they are up to something?"

"Who Chan and Mingyu?" Hoseok arched an eyebrow. "No way. You know they are perfect at their jobs. And since Mingyu now has a new position he must be very focused." he continued.

"Chan is definitely doing great, I checked on him already. I just don't know any more, I am tired of this evaluation. I am going to find Mingyu and be done with it." Soonyoung bowed a little at Hoseok and turned to leave.

"Alright Soonyoung-ssi. Before you go though, remember that Mingyu is a responsible person. You may not catch him in action, but you should be proud of him for doing his job correctly.” Hoseok gave him a wide smile, walking towards the kitchen door. “Good luck! And I hope you finish soon.” the groom wished and shuffled through the door, leaving the anxious steward behind.

Soonyoung shook his head and rushed up the stairs. He was ten minutes out of schedule already. If Mingyu hadn't completed his cleaning duties he would be in a lot of trouble. He also had to talk to Chan.   
_Should I punish him?_ he thought. If he had done this on purpose then he had to, even if he didn't like it. But first, he had to end this blasted evaluation and give his report to the king.

He made it to the second floor, his breath caught in his throat. He had to see Mingyu. He had to evaluate him properly. To be sure that the job was done by him. So he quickly headed to the prince's dressing room.

Predictably, prince Minghao was there. This time he was looking out the window but abruptly turned when he heard the door open.

"Soonyoung hyung." he said surprised.

"Here again your majesty...?" Soonyoung panted, annoyance obvious at the tip of his tongue.

"Should I be somewhere else?" Minghao quirked a curious eyebrow.

"I don't know your majesty..." Soonyoung sighed. "Have you seen Mingyu?"

"He cleaned, we talked a bit and then he left. He was worried about the room being in a perfect condition after yesterday's mess up.” Minghao explained lightly. “So, is it clean enough for you?"

Soonyoung looked around. Indeed, the room was in perfect condition. It was cleaned properly and everything was tugged neatly in its place. Including the prince. "To be honest, it is..." Soonyoung heaved a sigh.

Minghao laughed. "I'm glad. You know how stressed Mingyu can get. How is the evaluation going?" he asked, continuing the conversation.

"Terribly..." Soonyoung admitted. "I’m starting to regret making that decision..." he said bitterly.

"Really? Are many servants slacking off?" the prince asked with a serious tone.

"Frankly, no. I couldn't find anything and I'm so glad about that. Actually, I'm the one who is late at finishing this thing..." he continued rubbing his temples.

A headache was approaching; he could feel it. "The last thing on this list is Mingyu's evaluation. And honestly I just want to see his work done." tiredness started to appear in his features.

"Go ahead then, I don't want to take more of your time." Minghao gestured to the next room.

Soonyoung exhaled again. He was exhausted to say the least. He entered the next room scanning it around as carefully as his sore eyes allowed. Everything was good as expected. He then returned back and faced the prince. "I shall return to my office and write my report. Tell Mingyu he did great..." he simply voiced and dragged his feet leaving the prince room.

"Goodbye hyung. Don't forget to get some rest too." Minghao waved calmly.

Soonyoung waved back and let the room, making a bee line towards his office. The day was an absolute disaster. His whole body ached, his bones cracking every few seconds as he dragged his feet away. The steward promised himself that after wrapping up this whole fiasco, he would take a hot bath and a nice long sleep. He deserved it.

~*~

"Is he gone?" Chan whispered.

Minghao opened one door of his huge wardrobe and Chan, unprepared, tumbled to the ground, a mop clutched in his arms.

"He is gone. We did it Chan!" Minghao exclaimed excited.

"Yes hyung we did!" The young valet stood up throwing the mop on the floor and hugging Minghao tightly.

"I still can't believe that worked." Minghao said, hugging his valet back. "I am so tired, all that studying and cleaning really got to me." he yawned loudly

"We should go rest after all this work we've done." Chan suggested, wiping the sweat of his forehead. "But first lunch." he said, shoving the prince out of the dressing room.

"What time is it? We eat at three right?" Minghao said as he was being dragged to the dining room next doors.

"It's half past two. We should go though, before you change your mind and pass another day without eating..." Chan whispered the last part.

"Okay. Are you eating with us today?" Minghao asked hopefully.

"You know it's not my place to eat with you, your highness. But I can keep you company..." he smiled wide.

Minghao pouted. He wished he lived in a world where he could eat with his friends. Chan should have been hungry by then too, but he still couldn't eat until Minghao was finished. It was unfair.

"Don't pout like that hyung. You make me sad. We did so good today we should be happy not pouting!" Chan said happily.

"You are right. And by the way, how are you going to deal with Soonyoung when he asks about the kitchen’s incident?" Minghao asked.

"I guess I will find out then..." Chan said grimacing.

"Do you think he got suspicious?"

"Well he is not stupid. He must have caught on to something. But it's okay I will deal with it later... don't worry hyung." Chan brushed him off.

"Okay, just be careful." Minghao voiced wearily.

"I will. Promise. Let's go now, I heard that Seokjin hyung made pork bites with rice..." the valet said opening the dining room's door.

~*~

Wonwoo looked at the sky. The hours were passing way too fast. It was almost five in the evening. When Mingyu and he had gotten tired of walking around the plants, they had sat below a tree, their shoulders touching. The sun had begun to set and neither of them have eaten but for some reason neither felt like leaving. Their conversations seemed endless.

"So, do you know how to swim?" Wonwoo asked.

"A little. We used to go swimming at a lake near my house when I was young." Mingyu said pushing his bangs of his eyes. "But I haven't tried since I came here." he admitted.

"It's funny how we live next to the sea but some people still can't swim properly." Wonwoo smirked.

"Hey, it's not my fault. I wasn't supposed to go out of the palace. Only when prince Minghao wanted an escort." Mingyu whined.

"So our prince can't swim either?" Wonwoo arched an eyebrow.

"He can't, but don't tell anyone." the footman whispered.

"Okay... You both should consider learning though." Wonwoo advised, cutting a piece of grass and swirling it between his fingers.

"Why? I don't think we would need it..." Mingyu said bitterly. "We will always be stuck in the palace."

Wonwoo looked at the ground. "But what if you get out one day? What if you had to swim to save your life?" he asked.

"I doubt that will happen... But if some day something like that occurred, I would just drown." the footman laughed.

"Nah, I wouldn't let you." Wonwoo nudged him.

"Aw so kind-hearted." Mingyu cooed.

"Not really. You still owe me that spicy paprika lunch, I won’t let you go before you do it." Wonwoo chuckled .

"Harsh. But yes, you have a point." Mingyu agreed with the knight.

Wonwoo yawned. The sun was low enough that it split the sky into two colours, dark blue and orange. It was a beautiful sight. It had been a long time since he leisurely looked at the evening sky, relaxing under a tree. It only took a bucket of water on the head and an entertaining footman to get him outside of his room for something other than his duties.

Mingyu though... he was silent. Wonwoo slightly bent over to see what was going on. Why the footman fell into silence so suddenly? He watched as Mingyu focused his vision on the flowers that were lain on a bed right in front of them. And there it was again, that smile.

Objectively, Mingyu had a nice smile. As a first footman, he was supposed to look beautiful. But Wonwoo had never imagined such a genuine and relaxed smile could grace a person like Mingyu's face. He was still young, maybe not in age, but in maturity. He dreamt of the outside world without knowing what it really was. He had lived most of his life closed up in the palace and that had deprived him of knowledge of the real world. It was obvious how important the prince was to him; how much he was influenced by his beliefs. Maybe prince Minghao was more knowledgeable about the life outside of the palace, but Mingyu wasn't, so he was following the prince blindly. That gave Wonwoo a combination of feelings that he really didn't know how to deal with. On one hand he wanted to protect Mingyu, to let him live in his innocence, but on the other hand he wanted to wake him up, teach him about everything the footman didn't know about.

The knight sighed. Somehow, and Wonwoo didn't know how, it had taken him barely one day to get attached to the footman.

“Hey,” Mingyu turned to him quietly, his face close to Wonwoo's shoulder, “is this okay with you? Are you having fun?”

"Yes.” Wonwoo said without a second thought. It was a little unnerving. “I am greatly enjoying myself. I think I am glad I met you." he patted Mingyu’s knee.

Mingyu’s mouth opened wide. Immediately his face turned a bright red colour. "I-I'm glad." he managed to say.

"Are you tired at all?" Wonwoo asked poking his shoulder.

"Of being out here all day… maybe. Of your company... not at all." he smiled.

Wonwoo scrunched his nose. "Well, we shouldn't be here after it gets dark anyway. Should we go back?” he suggested.

Mingyu looked at the sky. "I believe we should." the footman said, standing up from the ground.

Wonwoo got up as well, dusting himself off, and began walking towards the back of the garden.

"When you get back, you must say a big thank you to your friend for covering up for you." he voiced playfully.

"I intend to, trust me. I own him big time." Mingyu said, scratching the back of his head.

They went towards the back gate, taking the same path. They walked side by side, their shoulders inches apart. For some reason, it felt so right. Wonwoo felt warmth settling nicely in his gut, as Mingyu guided them carefully towards the exit. The night was fast approaching, a chilly breeze settling around them, making Wonwoo shiver. Luckily, it didn’t take them long to reach the iron door. Mingyu pulled the latch open and they both shuffled out of the garden, quietly continuing their way towards the courtyard.

Suddenly, as they took a turn to get to the front of the garden, a man appeared out of nowhere causing both Mingyu and Wonwoo to scream.

Wonwoo instinctively placed a hand in front of Mingyu to protect him, until he realised who they had bumped onto.

"J-Junhui?" he stumbled.

"Wonwoo?" the other said, clutching his chest.

Wonwoo sighed and relaxed. "Mingyu this is Junhui, one of our new knights, Junhui this is Mingyu my uhhh... friend." Wonwoo introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Junhui said, offering his hand for a handshake.

"H-hello!" Mingyu stuttered and Wonwoo had to hide a smile. "N-nice to meet you too!" the footman said, but then he turned back to Wonwoo. "Ummm Wonwoo? We are kinda not supposed to be here, this should have been a secret." he pointed out awkwardly.

"You're right. Junhui, what are you doing here?" Wonwoo asked the knight. "You're not supposed to wander around the garden without permission you know that?"

"You were just in the garden though?" Junhui mumbled confused. "I was sent to find you and I didn't know where else to look. I am sorry..." he said with his prominent accent.

"Find me? Why? Did something happen?" Wonwoo frowned.

"Umm no, just general Jihoon is asking for you to give you your schedule for tomorrow." Junhui scratched his head.

"Really? What time is it, is it so late already?" Wonwoo said noticing the sky was rapidly darkening.

"Time for you to get back I guess." Junhui advised, smiling kindly at the confused knight.

"So, this is it then." Mingyu said, looking at Wonwoo. "Be honest, will I ever see you again?"

"Of course you will. You forgot about the food you owe me already?" Wonwoo grinned, crossing his arms.

"Hmm... did I enter a dramatic novel or something?" Junhui wondered out loud.

Mingyu blushed while Wonwoo looked pointedly at his friend.

"What?" Junhui asked.

Wonwoo was ready to speak back when he felt something wet touch his face.

"Oh no..." Mingyu mumbled.

Wonwoo looked up to the sky, the clouds that where far away before had finally gathered above their heads.

"It's going to rain, we better hurry up." he said but before he could finish his sentence, rain started pouring down on them. The trio immediately run towards the courtyard, trying, but failing, not to get wet.

"I'll never get back to the castle like this!" Mingyu whined.

"Why don't you come with us then?" Junhui shouted as they were running.

"Why, where are you going?!" Mingyu shouted back.

"Our dorms." Wonwoo said a bit quieter, because he was right next to Mingyu. "They are really close from here and I have tea." Wonwoo smiled.

"That sounds like a really good idea." Mingyu said back.

Wonwoo thanked Junhui in his head. He didn't wish for the day to end, and what a better option than to relax in his warm room with a cup of tea and Mingyu? He laughed quietly as he was getting soaked to the bone.

"Promise me you won't become a stuttering mess at every knight related thing you see!" he said at Mingyu.

"I will promise you that I will try!" the footman laughed.

"God... in what situation did I just walk in." Junhui exclaimed.

They continued running until the entrance of the knights’ dorms was visible. Wonwoo sighed relieved. Luckily, they weren’t completely drenched. He then let out a loud laugh, realization dawning upon him.

"Is _this_ how is it going to be from now on? Am I going to get wet every time I see you, Kim Mingyu?" he shouted around a laugh.

"It is not my fault this time Jeon Wonwoo." Mingyu laughed back.

"Just what in the name of Lord happened to you two." Junhui murmured.

They finally reached their building when Wonwoo turned to the other knight. "I will tell you another time." he smiled.

"Alright, but you are smiling awfully more than usual. I hope you are fine." Junhui said curiously.

"I said I'll tell you another time..." Wonwoo whispered again.

"So what now?" Mingyu asked curiously. It was the first time that he visited the army's building and that was obvious by the way he was peering around.

The three of them walked further inside the hallway, wooden floor creaking beneath their wet boots. Tall thick walls stretched around them, decorated with portraits of previous generals, gifted swords and long iron shields. Wonwoo grinned amused. He spent so much time of his life inside the building that hardly had any effect on him. Mingyu probably didn’t feel the same, judging by his sparkling eyes.

"Now I will take you to my room and then I will go see general Jihoon." Wonwoo grabbed the footman's arm and pushed him towards the stairs. "Good night Junhui!" he waved at his back.

"It's barely evening..." Junhui mumbled to himself, waving back anyway.

"Hey, hey I can walk you know," Mingyu laughed as Wonwoo kept pushing him.

Wonwoo immediately pulled back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just got excited for some reason." he blushed a little. "We should hurry up anyway, we are dripping water all over the hallway." he added.

"Alright then let's go." the footman said and started climbing the steps two by two leaving Wonwoo behind.

Wonwoo felt something tugging inside him. It was rare for him to get excited. But to also share that excitement with another equally excited person? That was completely new. Mingyu was special, he realised as he hurried up behind him.

"Wait, you don't even know where you are going!" he yelled.

They kept skipping up the stairs, shouting and cursing as they run towards the third floor. When they finally reached Wonwoo's room, they all but burst inside, giggles falling from their lips.

"I won. I stepped in first." Mingyu declared loudly.

"You cheated. You’re taller than me and you took advantage of it. " Wonwoo replied with a huff.

Mingyu stuck his tongue out and procced to move further inside. Wonwoo stopped him midway though.

"Stay still, you are getting water everywhere! Let me get you some dry clothes." he said as he removed his boots and walked to his wardrobe.

Wonwoo shuffled inside the small furniture, trying to find the biggest pair of breeches he owned, along with a bigger dress shirt. His body was significantly thinner than Mingyu’s, even though he was a knight. Finding something for the footman to wear could be considered a tough task. Luckily, Wonwoo did prefer his clothes a little wider than his actual size, so it didn’t take him long to spot a fitting pair.

"Here, I hope they fit. If you need to visit the bathroom it is at the end of the hallway." he explained, picking up another set of clothes. "I umm need to change to meet with the general." he said.

It was not like Wonwoo wasn't used to changing in front of other people, they had communal showers after all. But he figured Mingyu would get uncomfortable.

"You want me to get out?" Mingyu said, pointing the door.

"Whatever makes this the least awkward please." Wonwoo looked at the floor.

"Alright I'm heading to the bathroom then." the footman answered as he exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Wonwoo let out a grateful sigh and quickly got rid of his wet clothes. He dried himself with a towel from his closet and quickly slipped into the dry pair. He then tried to tidy up the room as much as possible before Mingyu returned. He straightened out the blankets on the bed and shoved as many books as he could under it. He was in the process of lighting the fireplace when the footman reentered with an awed look on his face.

"The bathroom is huge!" he said shocked, but his expression changed when he saw the scene before him. "Aw so perfect." he smiled warmly.

"Of course it is huge, it is a communal bathroom, it has to fit a lot of people there at once..." Wonwoo trailed off as he stared at the sweet look Mingyu was giving his room.

He especially seemed to like the window that was above Wonwoo's bed. The rain was beating the square glass, creating a soothing white noise. He shook his head, tearing his eyes from the footman in favour of lighting the fire.

"It feels nice." Mingyu said sitting in front of the fireplace.

"I'm glad you like it. So, get comfortable. You can sit on the bed now with the dry clothes if you want, I see how you eye that window." Wonwoo teased and got up. "I will be right back."

"Alright then... don't forget the tea." the footman reminded him.

"I would never." Wonwoo smiled and left the room.

~*~

"Hyung please stop pacing back and forth like that, I’m getting dizzy just by watching you." Chan whined.

"Chan it's 8 in the evening! Where is Mingyu? I need to study and I can't stop worrying over him!" the prince said for the tenth time in the last two hours.

"Maybe he is under a shelter somewhere in the castle. And you can't blame him. You can see what's going on outside." the valet commented from the floor.

Minghao sighed. He knew he was overreacting, Mingyu was a grown man, he could take care of himself. And if he was out that long that meant he was having fun, right? He would probably become friends with this knight. At least he hoped so. Mingyu had looked excited before he met him. If he turned out to be a bad person, Mingyu would definitely be disappointed. His fascination with knights would probably come to an end too, and Minghao got sad at that idea.

"Chan why do you think he is gone for so long?" he asked trying to soothe his racing mind.

"Maybe he was having fun and was so caught up in his date that he lost track of the time. And then the rain started and he couldn't come back." Chan answered. "Do you think that something bad happened with that Wonwoo guy...?" he asked quietly.

Minghao smiled a little at the mention of the date but quickly sobered up.

"Objectively, no. Wonwoo is a knight, they are supposed to treat the royal family and the high-ranking servants like superiors.” Minghao explained, momentarily stopping his pacing. “So if Wonwoo is any good at his job, Mingyu should be fine. I also trust general Jihoon, he wouldn't just hire anyone without checking them." Minghao sighed. “And yet here I am, not able to relax.”

"Why not though? You just gave me all those logical reason for why Wonwoo would not do anything bad to Mingyu hyung and yet you're still worrying." Chan crooked an eyebrow. "I'm sure there something else bothering you." he continued.

"I don't know it's just... You know Mingyu. He can get carried away easily. What if he does something he regrets later?" Minghao said pouting. "Should we go find him? He may still be in his room with that guy."’

"Alright then let's check it out." the valet answered, shuffling up on his feet. “If it’ll make you feel better.”

Minghao nodded and walked towards the door. The two friends exited the prince’s private room, heading towards the ground floor. They walked down the faded illuminated stairs quietly, mindful of their surroundings. When they stepped at the stair landing, they followed the long corridor and paused outside of the footman's door.

Minghao knocked on it. "Mingyu? Are you in there?" he called.

Silence.

"Well, he is not." Chan sighed, placing his hands on his waist.

Great. Like the entire day wasn't stressful enough.

"Seriously, could he be outside in that rain?" Minghao said in disbelief.

"Probably he was surprised by it and he couldn't return." Chan suggested one more time.

"Where could he be? He couldn't have left the castle, right?" Minghao began thinking.

"I don't think so..." the valet answered.

"No, even if they did leave the castle, they would have been back by the time the rain started. Then where else could they be?" Minghao mumbled, not really expecting an answer.

"Somewhere to hide from the rain. Somewhere warm and comfortable I guess." Chan pipped in Minghao's thoughts.

"Somewhere both he and a knight would go..." Minghao continued his train of thoughts. "I mean, if he isn't inside the castle, then the only other nearby buildings are the stables, the military and the servants’ building."

"I doubt he would be in the stables; he doesn't like being there so much. The smell.” the valet voiced thoughtfully. “I don't believe he would be on the servants building either. They don't have a reason to be there...so..." he continued.

"Oh my god, I can't believe him. If he is at the knight's building, we can pretty much assume he is dead from excitement." Minghao face palmed.

"I agree.” Chan nodded. “So, now that we cleared that up, shall we go upstairs again?" he said, turning his back on the prince.

"...But what if he isn't at that building either? Chan I am still worried." Minghao sighed again.

"Let me guess... you want us to go to see if he is indeed there?" Chan said unamused.

"I don't want to drag you into that rain but... What if he needs our help?" Minghao pressed.

"Alright then, I've done so much today. I guess a small trip through the death rain wouldn't be that bad." Chan smirked.

Minghao impulsively hugged the younger. "You are the best." he said. "Let's go wear something to protect us from _the death rain_ as much as possible."

After the two changed into some more secure clothes, they headed for the palace's door. Minghao dragged it to open a little, so they could pass through. They got out quickly and quietly, immediately getting wet by the rain.

"Mingyu hyung sure owes us a lot." Chan shouted as he was running towards the army building.

"You should make him do your laundry for like, a week." Minghao yelled back.

"Not a bad idea." Chan laughed.

When they reached the building, they immediately walked inside. Standing awkwardly at the threshold, Minghao glanced at the hall and then back at Chan.

"Have you ever been in here before?" he asked quietly, eyeing around the stoned walls.

"I haven't." he said "I didn't have a reason to."

"I've only been to the offices, not the dorms. I have no idea where to go." Minghao admitted.

The two friends shuffled closer when they saw a tall man walking out of General Jihoon’s office. He looked at them strangely, apparently not recognizing the prince, and headed up one set of stairs.

"Huh." Minghao said. "He didn't recognize us. Could he be one of the new foreign knights?" he wondered out loud.

"Wait... new knights?" Chan asked curiously. "The ones that Jungkook hyung was referring the other day?"

Minghao nodded. "Should we follow him?" he whispered.

"I think we should. Maybe he will lead us to the dorms..." Chan agreed quietly.

"Yeah maybe..." Minghao sighed. "We didn't think this through, even if Mingyu is here how will we find him?" he added as the they started climbing up the stairs quietly.

"I guess we could hear them through the doors. Mingyu hyung's voice isn't so hard to recognize." the valet rolled his eyes.

Their friend’s voice was like a cacophony of instruments; loud and deafening, making it easy for him to be found. They tried to be as discreet as possible, following the knight to the second floor.

"Is it just me or did we just skip a floor?" Minghao whispered.

"What you mean hyung?" Chan whispered back. "And why is this that guy so freaking tall. His one step is literally three of my own." he whined about the black-haired male.

"Shh he will hear us!" Minghao whisper-shouted as the knight slowed down.

Minghao quickly dragged Chan behind an armor stand as the knight looked behind him.

"Whoops... hehe." Chan looked at Minghao innocently.

The two stayed still for a few moments, listening to the noises in the hallway. There were voices coming from inside some doors, laughter and yelling, but most of them were quiet. After some moments, Minghao peeked his head from their hiding place. The man has continued walking a few steps and was now standing in front of one door waiting for something.

"Do you think that Mingyu is on that floor hyung?" Chan whispered peeking his head as well, so he could see what was happening.

The door that the knight was standing opened and someone dragged him inside laughing at something the two couldn't hear from where they were.

"Okay, now that the coast is clear, let's go inspect every room." Minghao said, walking out of their hide spot.

"Finally." Chan sighed tiptoeing behind the prince.

They walked swiftly and soundlessly placing their ears on every door. From some they could hear faint conversations, from others total silence. Then they reached the room where the knight was dragged a couple of minutes ago.

"Your turn." the valet said, nudging the prince to put his ear on the wooden surface, so he could eavesdrop a little of the chaos that was coming from there.

Minghao leaned his head on the door, careful not to make a sound. He could make out a lot of loud voices in that room. But... They weren't in Korean? He realised with a start these knights were foreign. But still though... that language... He could still recognize it.

Minghao took one step away from the door, looking at it with wide eyes. It couldn't be. That was his mother's language. He remembered the nights she sang him to sleep, he remembered hearing her talking to her relatives. He remembered how after her death he had dedicated a huge part of his days to learn that language. It was a futile attempt to feel close to her again. And now, right in front of him there were these knights, speaking it fluently.

The prince felt something inside him go weak. He hadn't realized how much it would affect him to hear those sounds again so unexpectedly. He pressed his ear at the door again, trying to make out words. He wasn't able to understand much, but one voice caught his attention. It was very distinctive, and he was speaking quickly, probably explaining something. Minghao felt an urge to talk to him, whoever he was. To finally put all his lessons in use, but he knew he couldn't. Through the thick door, he only managed to understand one word.

"G-garden?" he whispered.

His mother often visited that place, so he heard that word often. The accent was foreign on his lips, as he quietly repeated it. The shock hit him once again, and he took several steps back, his backside hitting the opposite wall.

"Hyung are you alright?" Chan said, looking concerned. Minghao went pale. His eyes, were wide, filled with shock and horror. "Minghao hyung talk to me. What happened?!" Chan begged louder this time, shaking the prince out of his state.

Minghao grabbed his hand and looked at him.

"I'm fine it's just..." he said but a loud voice interrupted him.

"Channie? MINGHAO?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ATTENTION ATTENTION!!!!
> 
> We decided that from now on we will post every SATURDAY!  
> We believe it will be easier that way. So Saturday is our next date!
> 
> That was it for this chapter, I hope you liked it and as always we are looking forward to your comments.
> 
> Until next update; take care, have fun and stay healty.
> 
> -SkWh


	5. Under the stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!!!
> 
> SkWh here and I'm back with Chapter 5!
> 
> Before we proceed, I would like to apologise about this chapter's structure. The POVs were all mixed up when we started correcting it so because of that, the scenes are smaller than usual and a little weirdly cut. I hope it isn't too disturbing.  
> Clarifications aren't necessary in this, thank God :'')
> 
> So without furter ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

Wonwoo turned to see a shocked Mingyu looking at the two people that had appeared on the stairs, which lead to the hall. They were both drenched in water and messed up, so he didn’t immediately realize who they were. He then looked between these two and Mingyu. Mingyu was surprised to see them, but not scared or anything. That meant they were probably friends. Mingyu had told him that the prince’s valet, as the one who had covered for him to their superior, was the only one who knew Mingyu would not be in the castle. And who would the _prince’s_ valet be escorting? Wonwoo finally connecting the dots and bowed deeply.

"Your Highness." he greeted the slimmer man that was most likely the prince and gave Mingyu a curious look in the process. Why in the world was _the prince of Gisa_ looking for him in the rain?

"Mingyu!" the prince shouted, unbothered by his status. He closed the distance between them quickly and motioned at Wonwoo to stand. "You must be Wonwoo." prince Minghao addressed him.

"Yes, your majesty." Wonwoo couldn’t help but bow slightly again.

"What are you doing here?!" Mingyu suddenly shouted, as if shaken away from his trance.

"We came to search for you! Where were you hyung?" the valet, Chan, yelled back.

"I hope you know that you're at least three hours late!" prince Minghao added, not as loud as the other but equally worried and pissed at the footman.

"Well excuse me mother and father! I didn't know I had a curfew!" Mingyu yelled again, not really looking angry. Still he was _loud_ and Wonwoo tapped him gently on the arm.

"Can you please lower the volume of your voice? We really shouldn't make a scene in here..." he murmured.

"Oh yes I'm sorry..." Mingyu clapped his hands in front of his face.

But it was too late.

A door behind them creaked open, and Wonwoo’s head whipped back to see with whose questions he would have to deal with later. Before he could get a clear sight of them though, Mingyu grabbed both the prince and his valet and run away, muttering a "see you soon" to him.

"Wonwoo, is everything alright?" a blurry voice came from behind him.

Wonwoo didn't notice the man at first because he was waving at Mingyu, greatly surprised that he had just met the prince of all people. And Mingyu was yelling at him casually, like the best friends they were. It was a lot to take in.

"Wonwoo?" the voice repeated again, and thankfully, it was familiar.

"Oh hey Junhui and… em…” Wonwoo, for the life of him, could not remember the name of the other Chinese knight, so he had no idea who the man behind Junhui was. “Did you say something?" he just asked Junhui, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Who were these people?" one of the others said shyly, his voice soft and even more accented that Junhui’s.

"Umm a friend... and his friends." Wonwoo replied innocently.

Junhui, having been with him and Mingyu when they were running from the rain, looked at him strangely. He said something to his friend in their native language and then turned back to Wonwoo.

"You owe me a talk?" he smiled hopefully.

"Maybe later..." Wonwoo answered, looking pointedly at some other doors that were beginning to open around them.

"I'll pass by for some tea then." it was not a question, or even a suggestion.

"Yes, okay." Wonwoo still agreed. If he was going to talk to anyone about this bizarre day, his best option was the foreign knight who had loose knowledge about the rules both he and Mingyu broke today. "I will see you then." he added and waved all of the men behind Junhui as he walked back up the stairs.

~*~

"So...." Minghao said, sitting in front of the fireplace of his room, a tea cup on his palm and his two friends around him. "Everything. With details." he added simply.

And this time, he didn't have to force Mingyu to speak. He opened his mouth and never closed it again. He talked about the moment he greeted the knight, about his stupidity over forgetting the book, then their talk at his room and their sneaking in the garden. He didn’t look ashamed of anything, even though he was willingly providing them both with teasing material _and_ he was revealing how he broke rules.

Minghao and Chan exchanged a lot of meaningful glances, but they didn't interrupt Mingyu. They didn't want to ruin their friend's excitement and joy as he shared his day. They were just glad that everything had gone well, and judging from the stars in Mingyu's eyes every time he mentioned Wonwoo's name, which was quite a lot of times, they assumed that the knight was a nice enough person. Despite all the rule breaking. Minghao would have to keep that in mind.

"Then the rain came along. Oh my God. You should have seen us three running and yelling like idiots. Wonwoo suggested we should go to his place, after Junhui, another knight I met today, said that the general wanted to see him." he took a deep breath. "So we went to his room. He gave me clothes to change into and after he came back from the general's office, we talked about sooo many things. We sat in front of the small fireplace and we shared stories about our childhood. I told him about the time we went to the docks and Chan fell in the sea. He was really concerned about it. He said that the only way to get over your fear, Chan, is by learning how to swim. Though it's a little hard to do so here. But anyway we talked about so many things. It was warm and cozy and the rain was so beautiful on the small window he has over his bed." the footman was rambling.

When it was apparent that Mingyu wouldn't stop talking, Minghao decided to intervene.

"So you were sitting on his bed?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

Mingyu stops abruptly. "I told you so much of our day and this is what you choose to comment on?" he whined. "Whatever, we had a great time together and you can mock me all you want, but his room was really special, with all those books and the carpet it was so... Wonwoo." Mingyu sighed, content.

Another exchange of glances with Chan. Minghao tried another method. "Ah by the way... about the forgotten book, we knew from the beginning, you clumsy idiot." he chuckled at Mingyu’s face.

Mingyu stared at him. "And why didn't you say-" he paused. "You know what, never mind. If I had given him the book immediately, we might have not spent the day together. I am glad we did. And I think he had fun too! We laughed so much together. It felt so natural to talk to him, he was polite and somewhat awkward at times, and we got familiar with each other so quickly! But that only made him appear approachable and not at all like high and mighty like I had imagined knights to be. He was even better if that is possible!"

Surprised, Minghao and Chan realized that no amount of teasing would make Mingyu stop talking. That was new. They were both proud and terrified of that development.

~*~

"Well," Junhui started, cutting straight to the point "What was going on out there before?"

He had gone to Wonwoo's room an hour after the yelling incident on the hallway. They were sitting on the carpet, drinking some warm tea.

"Don't be surprised, but that was Mingyu, our new first footman. I accidentally met him yesterday." Wonwoo said, bringing his knees to his chest.

"You’re kidding right?" Junhui arched his eyebrow. "The one that you were together in the garden? He was the first footman?" he said surprised. "I thought a person with such a title should be more serious and imposing." he continued.

"I thought so too. But honestly, Mingyu was as far from serious and imposing as possible.  
We met because he accidentally dropped dirty water on me from the castle's second floor." Wonwoo explained.

Junhui choked on his tea. "Oh my God." he coughed "Are you serious?" he started laughing.

"Yes." Wonwoo calmly sipped his tea.

His conversations with Junhui were noticeably different than the ones with Mingyu, Wonwoo thought. He was back to thinking what the proper reply was, if he should continue talking or drop the subject.

"Well then, one of them was Mingyu." another sip. "What about the other two? I don't recall them to be with him when we were running from the rain." Junhui noticed.

Wonwoo looked at his new friend for a moment, deciding if he could trust him. He didn't know Junhui that well. He was a bit clueless and could say the wrong thing because of the language barriers. But he had also seen him inside the garden. If he wanted to get Wonwoo or someone else in trouble he could easily have done so by now.

"This is going to sound even stranger, and I don't want it to spread, so please don't tell anyone. The taller one was the prince." he finally said.

Junhui froze. He shook his head once and stared at Wonwoo with wide eyes. "The _prince_? The prince of Gisa?"

"Yes, prince Minghao. Mingyu mentioned him a lot, I would assume they are friends." Wonwoo nodded, still finding it hard to believe himself.

Junhui was silent for a minute. "Minghao you said? That’s not a Korean name…" he paused again. "And Mingyu is a friend of the prince? This is unbelievable." he smiled a little. "I wonder what else peculiar thing I'll see in your country.”

Wonwoo was glad that the other made jokes. He didn't ask any further questions that would make Wonwoo uncomfortable. That was a trait he liked in Junhui. He sipped his tea again.

"It was a pretty peculiar day today indeed." he said.

~*~

A couple of weeks passed since the footman's meeting with the knight. Mingyu and Wonwoo saw each other a few more times including the one that Mingyu cooked for him. Other than his meetings with the knight, Mingyu was pretty busy. His schedule was full, especially this last week. The prince's birthday was around the corner after all.

Soonyoung had made harder schedules for every servant in the palace. Even if the higher-ranking ones didn't get very affected by the multiplication of the work, the castle was buzzing with movement. Minghao had given himself a break from his studies this past week, focusing only on his meetings with the town's barons and wealthy citizens that came to wish him well for his birthday, and some trade meetings with foreign merchants his father has assigned him to command.

The army was restless too. Wonwoo had said in one of his meetings with the footman that Jihoon had doubled their guarding duties and told them to be extra careful. In conclusion, the entire castle was alive and busy.

Before everyone could get really tired of the situation, the day when royalty members, dukes and duchess swarmed the palace for the official celebration of prince Minghao's 20th birthday came. Everyone settled in without problem, Soonyoung had made sure the rooms and the food were of top quality for their guests. And at last, the much-expected night came.

"I'm so nervous." Soonyoung sighed. "What if the food is not good or the atmosphere and decoration not right?"

"You need to calm down Soonyoung. I made the food, of course it will be perfect." Seokjin said, putting the finishing touches on a plate in front of him. After all, only the highest-ranking servants were allowed to attend today's celebration as guests. Seokjin still had a job to do.

"Try to enjoy yourself tonight. Your clothes suit you very much." Seokjin complimented Soonyoung in hopes of getting him to relax.

"Thank you hyung, I appreciate it." the steward smiled at his fancy outfit.

Soonyoung was anxious, even though he wasn't responsible for the event. He couldn't even imagine how Seungkwan dealt with having to plan every little detail, especially since he was younger than him. He would have gone crazy if he had been in his place.

"I'm leaving, hyung.” Soonyoung said at some point, jumping off the kitchen’s counter he had been sitting on. “I wish you a good night." he voiced and with a small bow, he exited the kitchen.

He climbed the stairs, passing beside all kind of royal people that were entering the palace. He greeted them, bowing and smiling until he reached the ballroom's entrance where he froze on his spot.

There he was. Jihoon. The steward cursed under his tongue. The general was speaking with a duke of the west part of the kingdom, smiling gently.

Soonyoung turned 180 degrees and left the room trying to compose himself. He was so preoccupied with the celebration itself that he had forgotten his _"friend"_ would be attending too. He had to work extra hard to avoid him, especially after the incident of that night. After receiving a couple of strange looks, he turned around and decisively re-entered the ball room.

He passed behind Jihoon, trying to look as unaffected from his presence as possible and headed towards the buffet where Chan was standing. He slipped behind the long table and tip-toed towards the young valet.

"Pssst Chan." he whispered, making Chan jump in surprise, effectively capturing the surrounding people's attention. Soonyoung internally face palmed.

"Hyung!" Chan hissed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What happened?" the valet asked around a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am just a little anxious. Please distract me?" the steward said hopefully.

If anyone could get Soonyoung in a good mood, that was Chan.

"Oh come on hyung." the younger smiled. "You know that everything is perfectly made. We all worked our heads off for today. You don't have to worry about anything. Promise." he voiced sweetly.

Soonyoung wished he could ruffle his hair, but he didn't want to destroy the effort his little duckling had obviously put in getting them up.

"Have you tried anything?" Soonyoung said pointing at the dishes that were laying on the rectangular buffet table.

"Honestly, those bread slices with the caviar... pure gold." the valet whispered innocently. "But don't tell Seokjin hyung." he continued giving a small smile.

Soonyoung laughed. "Don't eat them all though, yeah? They are for our guests." he chided lightly.

"I would never." Chan made an offended face, and this time, Soonyoung did pat his head.

He grabbed a piece of cherry pie to munch on and now that he calmed down a bit, he got the chance to look around the ball room. Round tables were scattered all over the room, neatly decorated with the most beautiful ornaments. Golden details were accompanying every piece of fabric, like table clothes and chair-cushions. The center of the room was as usual empty, ready for the guest to dance and have a great time. At the far corner the musicians were tuning their instruments, while some servants were dealing with the last details for the royal table.

"Oh where is prince Minghao? How come you aren't together?" Soonyoung said once he noticed the birthday person's absence.

"He is with the King and prince Samuel. I think they're discussing about the wedding." Chan said absent-mindedly.

Soonyoung glanced at the door that lead outside and to the lounge. "Prince Samuel and Seungkwan are leaving soon." he sighed. "I feel so old. I remember like it was yesterday when little Samuel run around playing with his toy sword. And now he is getting married. Time flies fast."

"Is that a tear a see hyung?" Chan teased.

"No nope, not a chance." Soonyoung huffed. "It's just... It just hit me that we don't have infinite time, you know? We should live our lives with happiness and not regret." he said a little bitterly, trying to stop himself from looking back, towards a certain general.

"You know hyung..." Chan trailed off. "Happiness is so underestimated in our time for some reason. Every person is obligated to follow a certain destiny, that most of the time is not even what they hoped it would be. It's always because _'we have to'_ , or because _'they say so'_. Happiness always comes last." the valet continued looking around. "What I’m trying to say is that I'm glad to hear my hyung is looking for happiness instead of avoiding it." Chan smiled back to him.

Soonyoung cringed internally. He was being hypocritical to Chan of all people, and he hated himself for it. But he couldn't help it, the situation he was in right now had been far from his choice. He just prayed to whatever god there was that Chan and the rest of his little ducklings would find the happiness they deserved one day.

"Channie, Soonie-hyung!" as if on que, particularly happy voice was heard from beside them.

The duo turned their head at the same time and smiled at the man before them. Boo Seungkwan never failed to make a great appearance. He was dressed fancily, as it was expected of him, with high boots and multiple rings accompanying his expensive satin cape. The two palace servants bowed respectively as their social rules told them to, but Seungkwan swooped them in a hug.

"How are you?! I haven't seen you in ages!" he shrieked, as he released them from his death grip.

Chan giggled a little embarrassed, but Soonyoung laughed as loudly as the boy before him and patted his back.

"It's been ages indeed! Look at what you did!" Soonyoung said pointing at the room around them. "It's incredible!"

"Oh you flatter me hyung, but this," he gestured behind him casually, "is nothing compared to the plans I have for Samuel's wedding." he smiled brightly.

"When are you leaving hyung?" Chan piped up.

"In five months, I will sail all the way to Zhanshi so I can arrange everything. And after me, our royal family will follow and the wedding shall take place." Seungkwan declared.

"It is finalized then? Ahh Seungkwanie what are we going to do without you?" Soonyoung whined exaggeratedly.

"Relax hyung. He won't leave forever. When the wedding ends, he will be back." Chan laughed at his hyung’s comically sad face.

"Also I still have five whole months here. I will be head deep in work, but you will still be getting enough of me." Seungkwan winked.

"And even when he leaves, I'm sure his letters’ pages will increase dramatically. He won't shut up about his decorations." Chan laughed. "I'm pitting myself only by thinking it."

"Oh and the decorations are only the half of it!” Seungkwan pointed at him. “You should see the clothes! And Zhanshi's palace steward just sent me the layout of their castle and I have begun organizing the guest rooms and the food, and seriously those people over there are majorly different than us it is somewhat of a culture shock I guess. But of course I can work with that!" Seungkwan babbled while Chan tried to eat another slice of bread with caviar before Soonyoung could notice. Foolish child, Soonyoung’s eyes were always on the caviar.

"Look I was right about him..." Chan said with his mouth full.

"Will you stop eating that?" Soonyoung slapped his hand away from the buffet. "Those things are so interesting Kwanie." Soonyoung smiled to the other. "But I guess we should be going back to our tables. The event is about to start after all." he continued, nodding towards the door where the king had made his entrance, walking slowly towards the royal table followed by his two family members.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the royal family and bowed down respectfully. The king walked at his own pace, each step meaningful and made to appear imposing. Prince Minghao was behind him at the right side, his face stoic, calm and unreadable. On the left of him was prince Samuel, the least serious of the royals, smiling faintly at the people who looked at him. They made their way to the table and gracefully sat down, the king in the middle, and the younger ones at each side of him.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen." the king said. "Thank you all for coming to celebrate my son's birthday once again. Prince Minghao is turning 20 this year. He is becoming an adult and an official heir to our Kingdom's throne." he smiled as he raised his golden cup. "To prince Minghao!" he said firmly, ending his brief speech.

"To the prince." the guests answered. The music started then, signaling the beginning of the celebration.

Minghao made eye contact with his valet, beckoning him to join him at greeting the guests, who came to personally wish him well for his birthday. The people were already lining up to talk to the prince. Soonyoung noticed his expression was still kept neutral, a polite half smile gracing his lips when appropriate.

Chan excused himself and approached the prince. He stood at his left side, at the corner of the table. Chan side-watched his prince grinning at the royals, mumbling thanks to their wishes, and Soonyoung felt so proud watching him. Even though he didn’t realize it Chan, more than anyone, was the one who had grown up the most right under the steward’s nose. Soonyoung took a piece of bread and dipped it in the caviar bowl, trying to quell his rising emotions.

He was mid-bite when the younger prince caught his eye. Prince Samuel smiled and waved enthusiastically at him. Soonyoung tried to smile back, but his face was still stuffed with caviar. He didn’t know what face he made at the prince, but the boy started giggling behind his palm.

~*~

Meanwhile at the kitchen, a certain footman had a small problem with the royal chef.

"Seokjin-hyung I'm telling you the buffet doesn't fit any more food!" Mingyu whined as he watched the kitchen's master fill a tray with more dishes.

"Mind your business Mingyu! Why did you leave your post at the entrance? You should just stand there and look pretty!" Seokjin scolded him. "I don't understand what's wrong with all of you today, can't you just relax?" the chef continued.

"I believe you should also say that to yourself hyung. So much food..." Mingyu pointed at the silver and golden platters. "The entire Gisa can be fed with this." the footman answered folding his arms on his chest.

"It's not my fault, have you seen how the caviar seems to be disappearing? Seungkwan ordered me to make food, so I make food.” Seokjin huffed. “Now that you’re here, do my the favour and take this upstairs." he waved dismissively to the footman.

Mingyu frowned at him, but proceeded to take the tray upstairs, nevertheless. He climbed the grand staircase, mumbling to himself about how he was being overworked and that it wasn’t fair. Reaching the second floor he sighed, dismissing the annoyance. He straightened his back to appear taller, like a proper footman, and entered the ballroom.

Some ladies glanced his way as he carried the dishes, but he just kept smiling and looking ahead. He was used to such attention. He always had in the back of his mind that he should court one woman someday. But as the days passed, he found himself less and less willing to spend any time away from his work, his friends or Wonwoo. He just wasn't interested in romance right now.

He placed the big platters on the buffet table neatly, careful not to break anything. When he was done, he turned around to check if his friends were alright, of they were having. He scanned the room and saw Minghao and Chan making small talk as the prince ate. He smiled satisfied at the sight and proceeded to take his place at the ballroom's entrance.

From his position, he could see the guards at the staircase. Seungkwan had made sure the celebration would be secure, so he had placed guards at various places inside and outside the ballroom. They were changing positions every few minutes and they made sure everything was in order. Mingyu didn't recognize the knights at the staircase, they were probably new.

It was strange. A few weeks back he would have been ecstatic to be in the same room as those knights. Now, whenever his eyes fell on them, all he could think about was Wonwoo. His childhood fascination was slowly turning into a more mature admiration for a single person. He didn't blindly idolize knights anymore, but he sure loved to spent time with them, especially with his own knight, Wonwoo. Not _his own_ knight, Mingyu corrected himself, trying not to feel embarrassed by his own thoughts.

Speaking of the devil, Mingyu saw Wonwoo climbing up the stairs. He went to one of the guards, said something to him and then the man walked away, leaving Wonwoo to take his place. Mingyu smiled to himself. The knight was looking outstanding in his shining armor, another one of Seungkwan's ideas. They all looked exceptional, but the familiarity Mingyu had with Wonwoo made him stand out.

The only thing that was missing from his formal attire was the helmet. Seungkwan had said that they wanted the palace to be protected but be attractive at the same time. So he forced Jihoon to exclude the helmets from their outfit, a suggestion the general did not accept with open arms.

 _What if an emergency happens?_ he had sternly asked the young decorator. _Everything is gonna be fine,_ Seungkwan had said, turning his back to a frustrated general, clearly not caring very much about his opinion.

Mingyu fought the urge to wave at Wonwoo. He had to keep a stoic and imposing appearance in order to impress the guests with his looks. Hopefully, Wonwoo would see him on his own. Mingyu kept staring subtly at him, while politely welcoming the last guests inside the ballroom. They were almost all inside. The dinner was served, and anyone coming later than now would be looked down on. Mingyu waited patiently for the corridor to empty.

After ten minutes, all the guests had entered the ballroom and the hallway had enveloped in silence. Now with freedom to move, Mingyu peeked inside the ballroom. The event was turning out beautifully as the people inside the room were eating and dancing happily. The royal family seemed delighted as well, but knowing Minghao, he was probably going to get tired of all this very soon. Mingyu turned away from the sight and back to the corridor, only to find out that 'his' knight was watching him from his position.

Mingyu's smile widened and slightly nodded at him with his head. Wonwoo faintly smiled back and began walking towards him. When he was near enough, he leaned in and whisper. "I am going inside, we change positions every quarter or so. See you around?" he said hopefully. 

"Of course." the footman breathed. "How about we meet outside after both our shifts end?" he suggested, hoping more than anything that Wonwoo would agree.

"Okay." Wonwoo said, looking quite pleased himself. He disappeared inside the doors, only for another knight to take his previous place.

The hours passed by quickly and the celebration was still going. Some of the guests had already left, making the ballroom seem significantly emptier. Mingyu was getting a bit tired by now, his legs cramping a little from all those hours he was standing. He wished the night could end faster. It had been roughly twenty minutes since Wonwoo had exited the ballroom for the last time, telling him he had a shift outside for the rest of the night. Mingyu wanted to go and find him as soon as possible. He was craving for some conversation.

Luckily, it was only after a while that someone tapped him on the shoulder, bring him out of his thoughts.

"Mingyu-sii." it was Taehyung, the current second footman.

"Oh hello!" Mingyu smiled.

"Soonyoung-ssi sent me to tell you that you are free for the rest of the night. I'll take your position until the end of the event." Taehyung flashed him a boxy smile.

"Oh really? The time really did pass quickly!" Mingyu said and stretched his arms above his head. "Thank you Taehyung-ssi." Mingyu bowed slightly and went inside the room to check on his friends first, before he went to find Wonwoo.

~*~

Jihoon was having a difficult night. First of all, he originally wasn't a fan of events. Actually, he had started to hate them about two years ago. The only reason why he attended them was that it was his prince's birthday celebration, and it would be rude of him not to show up. Second of all, he wasn't alone. Soonyoung was in the same room with him all freaking night. He hadn't left even for a second. He just talked and joked around with his employees. Honestly, the general was getting a headache just by feeling his aura.

He walked around aimlessly for a while, sometimes picking food from the buffet, sometimes pretending to stare at a painting on a wall. Some guests occasionally talked to him, and he tried his best to appear sociable. He even ventured outside to the balcony once, but he was immediately greeted by men smoking from long pipes so he excused himself and returned inside the big room. All that smoke was not his thing.

Jihoon caught himself glancing at the steward multiple times. He seemed anxious like always, but he also laughed loudly with his subordinates. He respected them enough not to scold them in front of foreign people if they messed up, and that was just so _Soonyoung_ , that Jihoon wanted to squeeze something in his fist. The steward spoke to almost everyone around him, and at some point, he even joined the seemingly bored prince and his valet at the royal table. Jihoon looked away, frowning. Sometimes, he wished he had half the energy Soonyoung had.

"I told you I was right about the helmets." Seungkwan approached him at some point, holding a silver cup.

If Jihoon wasn't a trained soldier, he would have been startled at his sudden appearence. Now, he merely glanced at the younger boy and sighed. He picked a cup of wine from a passing servant as well.

"Attractiveness is the key to impressiveness." The clothier continued "Maybe you should listen to me more often general-ssi." he teased.

"Maybe you should spend your time doing something other than objectifying and diminishing my knights like they were beautiful furniture." Jihoon mumbled.

Seungkwan rolled his eyes, ignoring him. "They must be aesthetic. I can't have them walking around looking like pieces of iron with legs." he huffed.

" _Aesthetic._ " Jihoon grumbled again.

"Yes general. It isn't as bad as you think. It enhances the pleasurable feeling that guests should feel. They come in contact with our knights before they even enter the palace, you know. First impression plays a major role. We should maintain our image as rulers." Seungkwan continued blabbering.

Jihoon tuned him off. Seungkwan was one of the people that wouldn't get offended if he wasn't polite with him. He glanced around the room again, and his eyes inevitably fell on the steward. He was still talking with the prince and Chan, but the former seemed more occupied with the numerous guests talking to him. Chan whispered something in the blonde's ear and Soonyoung let out his characteristic loud laugh, catching a few people's attention. Jihoon frowned distastefully. Was he the only one feeling miserable?

"Hello, earth to general Jihoon." Seungkwan waved his hand in front of the general's face, unfortunately bringing him back to reality. "What's wrong with you Jihoon-ssi? Why are you looking at Soonie-hyung like he murdered your family?" the designer asked.

"Like he what?" Jihoon stared at him. Was that really how he looked?

"You know, you're looking at him like you want actually to kill him. Do you hate him or something?" Seungkwan asked again.

Jihoon looked at Seungkwan with wide eyes.

"No..." the general shook his head "I don't hate him. He..." Jihoon hesitated and looked at the ground "He used to be my best friend, remember?" he said quietly.

Seungkwan's jaw dropped, and Jihoon would have rolled his eyes if the subject of this sudden conversation wasn’t so sensitive to him. Jihoon never spoke about the years he had spent with Soonyoung, so perhaps Seungkwan’s dramatic reaction was justifiable for once.

"You know general hyung, we people are social creatures. We aren't made to be alone." he said and with a sad smile, he left the general to his misery.

Jihoon huffed and turned around. He sipped his wine and headed back at the balcony. Smoking suddenly didn't sound so bad.

~*~

Mingyu exited the palace, a playful skip accompanying his step. He immediately looked around the courtyard trying to spot Wonwoo. He checked the front gate first, and then the space between the dorms of the knights and the servants, but the knight was nowhere to be found. Mingyu frowned. He was pretty sure that the other had told him to meet outside. He started walking towards the back. Maybe Wonwoo had finished his shift and decided to go somewhere more quiet.

He turned at the corner of the palace, scanning his surroundings. Still no one in sight. Pouting, he walked all the way the stables, and then his frown vanished. A few meters away, there was Wonwoo. He was sitting on a bench, peacefully looking at the sky with a faint smile. He was back in his everyday clothes too, the heavy armor discarded somewhere.

Wonwoo looked so lost on his thoughts, as if he was daydreaming. Mingyu wouldn’t be surprised if at this moment he paid no attention to his surroundings. He smiled to himself, an idea popping in his head. He approached Wonwoo from behind and on his tip toes, as silently as he could. When he got right behind him he took a deep breath, ready to yell and scare him, but then Wonwoo's smooth voice pierced the silence.

"I hope you don't intend to scare me." he said and Mingyu instantly deflated.

"Ermm... of course not. How did such a thing cross your mind?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Of course Wonwoo would notice him, he was not a knight for no reason. He sat beside the knight and looked at the sky as well. "The stars are beautiful." he hummed in appreciation.

"That sounds like the beginning of a pick-up line." Wonwoo smiled.

Mingyu choked on air. "Hyung what?!" he whined loudly.

Wonwoo laughed. "You know... ‘The stars are beautiful tonight. Do you know what else is beautiful’?" he said, looking at Mingyu playfully.

Mingyu dreaded to answer. But he didn't have any other choice. "What?" he asked quietly.

"You are." Wonwoo laughed and poked his arm.

Mingyu's heart skipped a beat and he turned his head to look at his lap. His face started reddening rapidly and sweat formed at the bottom of his spine. What kind of reaction was that? Wonwoo was clearly joking here, why was that weird feeling blooming in him? He cleared his throat and looked at the sky one more time before he managed to gather enough courage to answer, determined not to make a fool out of himself.

"If my beauty is matched to the stars then yours is to the moon... it's unique and very captivating..." he whispered the last part.

Wonwoo bit his lip and looked back up at the sky. He had laughed at Mingyu's flustered reaction but now that the compliment was returned, that laugh died in his throat, Mingyu noticed with gratification. It was Wonwoo’s turn to get shy, and honestly, Mingyu was enjoying every second of it.

"Ummm thanks..." he mumbled eventually. "But umm I'm not as good looking as you are, just saying...” he added, and Mingyu turned to look at him again.

"Well, I don't believe that." he declared softly.

It was a typical autumn night, full of its cold breezes and incoming humidity, yet Mingyu wasn't feeling cold at all with Wonwoo pressed next to him. The town was silent and the palace as well. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the event’s music through an open window. The musicians were playing a slow waltz, just right for the royals to dance. Suddenly, an idea came to Mingyu's mind.

"Hey hyung. Do you want to dance with me?" he asked softly.

~*~

A weird mood had enveloped them, Wonwoo realized. They had met up before, they had joked, they had had fun, and there were some awkward moments between them that he couldn't explain, but that night something was shifting.

"I... I don't know how to dance..." Wonwoo admitted, the only reason he could find to refuse the request. Every other part of him, he realized a bit startled, was very positive to the idea.

Mingyu looked at him with shock. He quickly recovered from it though and he rose up from his seat. He stood in front of Wonwoo and reached his hand out, smiling down at him.

Wonwoo looked up at him, at his gentle smile and his well-kept appearance and his hand twitched on the bench.

"I really don't know how to dance." he repeated.

"I'll show you then." Mingyu encouraged him. "Trust me."

Wonwoo had called Mingyu as beautiful as the stars before, only half joking. Looking at him now, he still stood by that statement. Wonwoo was silent as he took the offered hand, and Mingyu gently pulled him up. The footman moved them a little farther from the bench. He put one of Wonwoo's palms on his right hand and the other on his left shoulder, while he placed his own hand at the small of Wonwoo's back.

"That's the position you should take with your partner. Though when that happens, you will be the one who leads the dance so the hands are reversed. For now, I will lead." he declared. "The steps are really simple. Follow me... one two three, one two three." Mingyu counted softly, close to Wonwoo's ear.

Wonwoo instinctively looked at his feet. He was blushing again and he didn't want to embarrass himself by stepping onto Mingyu's foot. He gripped the footman's hand harder and tried to count his steps. He was really stiff, but at least he was moving.

The music was playing slowly at the background, giving them rhythm. After a couple of minutes, Mingyu stopped counting. They were moving together with the sound of the instruments. Mingyu watched as Wonwoo counted under his breath and smiled at him sweetly. He kept twirling him around, letting him practice. Wonwoo’s wasn’t that good for his first time, but it was still fun.

And then, Mingyu took his left hand away from his hip and with his fingers he lifted Wonwoo's chin up. The knight looked at him straight in the eyes, surprise all over his features.

“You’ve got this.” Mingyu offered as an explanation, setting his hand back on Wonwoo’s waist. “You don’t need to look down.”

The moonlight was reflecting so magically in Mingyu’s dark eyes, Wonwoo found himself captured in them. Mingyu flashed him a reassuring smiling, secretly telling him that everything was alright, that he was doing a great job.

Wonwoo felt dazed. What was this? He suddenly realized how close they were and he momentarily stopped hearing the music inside. He didn't see where his feet were going anymore, so he stumbled as he lost his rhythm, holding onto Mingyu's shoulder tightly.

"I'm sorry." he apologized quickly, looking away from Mingyu's face.

"It's alright hyung." Mingyu chuckled. "You were doing great. I think with a few more lessons you'll be ready to dance with a beautiful lady next time." he said, his voice a little more forced during the end.

Wonwoo snorted, seemingly regaining his composure, but something inside him was recoiling at the idea.

"That won't be happening anytime soon.” he didn’t hesitate to express it. “When I am not on duty, I'm either with my friend or you. I mean... Not that you aren't my friend." he frowned again.

"Right." Mingyu said, pausing in his movement. "We also are... em... friends?" he said awkwardly.

"Yeah. Definitely." Wonwoo nodded. "So about this dance. Let's try again." he added and stepped closer once more, this time much more comfortable.

They stayed like that until the event ended. The guests started leaving the palace in larger numbers and the music stopped. Mingyu led them both back to the bench, his arm still resting on Wonwoo’s waist.

"So. In a word," Mingyu said when they were sat, "how was your night?" he smiled.

"Hmmm..." Wonwoo paused to think, absentmindedly bringing his legs up to his chest.

This was not a normal night, was his first thought. It felt different, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly in what way. He probably should accept that this was the normal for Mingyu and him, no matter how unique it felt. It wasn’t a bad feeling and at least now he could dance semi-decently.

"My night was; Educational." he finally said.

"Aha, such a great way to describe it." the footman smiled.

Before Wonwoo could return the question, a pair of footsteps sounded from the distance. The duo turned their heads towards the sound and saw a small servant running to them.

"Hyung!" Chan shouted.

~*~

The first thing Chan saw after he yelled at Mingyu was that his friend was not alone. That knight that he had taken to hang out was with him. They were sitting close together in a bench, but when the knight’s eyes fell on Chan, he instinctively took a step away from Mingyu.

Weird.

"Chan? Did something happen?" Mingyu stood up.

Chan stopped running when he reached the other two.

"Hello Wonwoo-ssi.” he greeted the knight first as he regained his breath. Then, he turned to Mingyu. “Hyung, the celebrations are over, it's gotten pretty late. Mingh- err I mean our prince, has retired to his rooms. Remember that gift we got him?" he said.

"Oh that's right!" Mingyu smiled. "It’s the perfect opportunity! Let's get going then." he said and started walking back to the front side of the castle. He abruptly stopped a couple of steps further though. Chan watched him with amusement as he returned back to the bench and crouched in front of the still-sitting knight. "Hyung, what are you gonna do? I must go. We bought a gift for prince Minghao and we would like to give it to him now... so..." he fumbled with the hem of his coat.

"It's pretty late, I should go back to the dorms.” the knight nodded and put his legs down from the bench. “But first, is it okay if I take you two inside? Who knows what may happen with all those visitors..." he said, looking a bit worried.

And a bit unwilling to let Mingyu leave like that, Chan noticed.

"Yes please, if you'd like that." the footman answered, blushing a little.

Chan place his hand on his lips trying to hide his smirk. Unwilling to leave each other, then.

"Alright then. This way, Wonwoo-ssi.” Chan said, reminding them of his presence.

Mingyu stepped aside to let Wonwoo pass in front of him but at the same time the knight stepped the other way so the footman could go ahead. Mingyu smiled and began walking, only for Wonwoo to walk at the same time and they bumped together. This time Mingyu laughed out loud.

"You go first." he said and Wonwoo finally walked ahead with an eye roll and a soft smile.

Chan could only stare.

"What?" Mingyu shrugged when he caught his eyes and started walking behind the knight, ignoring Chan’s dumbfounded look.

Wonwoo slowed down to wait for the two friends. There were a lot of things Chan wanted to ask, but he held himself back. This was not a time to embarrass Mingyu in front of his new friend. But well, he couldn’t help it if the knight was the one to talk to him first.

"So, Chan-ssi. How was the feast?" he asked.

And he wanted to make small talk. They hadn't spoken with each other ever since Mingyu introduced them, so he felt a little awkward towards him.

"It was a beautiful night. Lovely atmosphere and delicious food." he answered noncommittally.

"Ah, good. Nothing dangerous happened then?" Wonwoo looked at him.

"Everything went according to our schedule." Chan smiled skeptically. What was wrong with this knight? Why did he ask that kind of questions?

Wonwoo looked at the ground. He was an awkward person, Chan realized. How had he managed to get so close to Mingyu in such a short time was left to be questioned.

"Okay then." Wonwoo said quietly and subtly glanced at Mingyu.

Mingyu smiled at him encouragingly, and then he shot Chan an evil glance. Chan frowned at him _._ Mingyu was not someone to become protective easily, but here he was, daring Chan to appear impolite. Perhaps he had a point though. Maybe he shouldn't be so skeptical about the knight. He was just trying not to seem awkward, after all.

"What about you Wonwoo-ssi, did you have a good time today?" he asked in the end.

He felt a bit bad at the way the knight perked up at being addressed. Alright, Mingyu had made several points with that glare of his.

"Yes, it was great.” Wonwoo said. “I mean, my shifts went as expected and then I had time to relax too." he smiled, and his eyes fleeted over Mingyu again.

"Lovely to hear that." the valet answered politely.

They finally reached the palace's gate and Chan was the first to step inside.

"I ummm I should leave now." Wonwoo bowed a little at both of them. "I wish you have a good night.” he said.

"You too, hyung." Mingyu said softly.

"Good night Wonwoo-ssi" Chan waved at him.

With one last polite smile, Wonwoo departed. The moment he was out of sight, Mingyu's shoulders slumped and Chan turned to him, ready to bury him in questions. He took a deep breath and got ready to fire away, but Mingyu pushed him to keep walking

"Not a word!" he shushed him immediately.

"Hey that's unfair! I have so many things to ask!" Chan whined. “Like, why did he pull away when-“

"No, Chan, stop this. I'm not in the mood." Mingyu said, sounding firmer than usual.

Chan gave him an exasperated look but kept his mouth closed. Mingyu was fun to mess with, but not when he wasn’t comfortable with it. Chan followed him silently. Mingyu was acting strange but he couldn't do anything about it now. He had to cheer him up instead.

"Hyung, we are finally giving Minghao our present. After one month of waiting, it's finally time. Do you think he will like it?" he asked casually.

"I hope so. Only my pouch knows what we've been through for those earrings." Mingyu sighed, but his tone lightened again.

When they reached Minghao's door, they both straightened their clothes before knocking. After some shuffling from inside the prince's private room, the door opened a fraction and an eye looked at them. After Minghao realized it was them, he fully opened the door.

"Hello? What are you two doing here?"

"What, can't we come and see our dear friend on the day of his birthday?" Mingyu teased. "Except if your highness needs sometime to himself." he arched his eyebrows in question.

"No, no, come inside. Anything to make this day better..." Minghao voiced solemnly and stepped aside.

"It will become better don't worry." Chan smiled.

The duo walked inside and Mingyu closed the door behind him. Minghao sat at his bed and looked at them curiously, probably wondering what they were doing here after all the celebrations were over. It was Chan who cleared his throat and clapped his hands.

"So hyung. We realize today may not have been your ideal day, but we still want to give you something to remember it." he said and elbowed Mingyu to continue.

"It's a gift from both of us. Something that we hope you'll remember in all the years of your life. Even if we aren't so close to you in the future. We would like to always look at it and recall all the memories that we had and will have together." the footman said.

On cue, Chan took a small velvet pouch out of his pocket and carefully handed it to the prince. Minghao opened it gently, and made an appreciative sound.

"Thank you guys you didn't have-" he began saying formally, like he had done all afternoon but Mingyu interrupted him.

"They symbolize the nature and all its beauty that you've talked to us about so many times. And they come with a wish. We both hope that one day you'll succeed in going out of these walls and see all those majestic places that you've read about." he finished.

"And then come back and describe us everything. With details." Chan continued.

Minghao's polite smile dropped. He looked at the earrings again. They were shining under the lit candles of his room. It was only because Chan had spent his entire life by Minghao’s side, growing up with him and sharing all their experiences that he could tell exactly what he thought once his guard dropped.

The first thought that came to his mind about the earring was that it didn't belong there with him. Their beautiful green colours shouldn't be contained in a small room. It should be outside, reflecting the rays of the sun and shinning brighter than those candles allowed it to. Minghao probably thought that he didn't deserve it.

The prince looked up at his friends' awaiting faces and Chan could see the moment that their wish sank in. They had told him to get out of the castle. That had always been an impossible dream for the prince, but even if he never managed to fulfill their wish, they at least wanted to show him that they understood him and his deepest desires. Minghao sighed, his eyes filled with melancholy, but at least, in front of his friends he could let out a bit of his real self.

"Thanks, you two..." he said. "Even though I've lost hope, this can still fill my imagination." he smiled.

"Hyung you never know what's going to happen." Chan said encouragingly. "Fate is a strange thing. Maybe one day you'll wake up and everything will be different... maybe you'll have the opportunity to go and see what you desire the most. Just don't lose hope." he flashed a sweet smile, sitting beside him.

Minghao placed an arm around his shoulders.

"If that ever happened, would you still follow me?" his eyes fell on Mingyu whose facial expression wasn't as carefree as usual.

The valet laughed under his breath. "If you choose us, we will always be by your side." he answered

Mingyu looked at him, hesitating on his answer. He was thinking about it, Chan realized. For the first time in all those years, Mingyu was seriously thinking about this, weighing the pros and the cons in his head. He had never done such a thing before, he always followed Minghao blindly. Something must have happened to him for this change to happen, maybe a conversation with someone? Whatever the case, Mingyu was more serious than he had ever been on that topic.

This was probably why when he gave his answer, it held a lot more weight than it ever had before.

"Yes Minghao. I would come with you." he said, looking at the prince straight in the eyes.

And Minghao must have felt that this wasn't one of Mingyu's random decisions too, he must have realized that the footman was serious this time, so he smiled, much more comforted than he had ever been by his best friend.

"Thank you." the prince said, and this time he meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for today people.
> 
> It's weird that today that the chapter was about prince Minghao's birthday, was also the birthday surprise that SEVENTEEN did for Minghao in reality! Such a coincidence!
> 
> Anyway, we hoped you liked it and as always we are looking forward to your comments below.
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	6. New Year's Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola guys!!!
> 
> Saturday is finally here and so is the new chapter!
> 
> Nothing much to say here, we don't have clarifications for this chapter, so without furter ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

In hindsight, the night of prince Minghao's twentieth birthday turned out to be a major moment in a lot of lives.

The prince himself was drowning in both his increased duties as an adult and his own hopelessness. The gift his friends had given him had burdened him a lot more than they probably intended. His dream was clearer than before, but way more out of reach.

Chan was affected as well, not so much from the events of that night though. More like from the behaviour of his friends. Mingyu had shouted at him and although Minghao liked the present they had bought him, he seemed more depressed than happy. Those thoughts occupied his mind a lot. And the more he thought about it the more he wished he could do something. Something to bring back his two friends.

Even general Jihoon seemed to have taken Seungkwan's words to heart. He was even more grumpy and snappy than usual. His anger had increased, both towards his subordinates and himself.

Though the ones that were affected the most were clearly Mingyu and Wonwoo.

The footman changed a bit differently though. It was barely noticeable at the beginning, but Mingyu could tell was slowly maturing. He stopped complaining and whining so much and instead he started being productive. Something inside him was telling him that he couldn’t act like a child forever, not when he was surrounded by people who had passed that stage. He started reading books when he could, and he became more careful with his words.

His bright personality and goofy smile didn't change though. It wasn’t his intention to become a completely different person, just an improved version of himself. He finally felt like he had all the motivation he needed for that.

The only bad thing that came out of this shift, was Mingyu's nights. It became difficult for him to sleep instantly. It was strange how the primary reason he wanted to take better control of his life was also the reason he completely lost control of his sleep. Every night, without fail, his treacherous mind always drifted to Wonwoo, and especially that night they had together.

Wonwoo had gone to him a couple weeks ago when he had been sweeping the courtyard, and had told him that he would teach him how to use a sword. An exchange for the dance lesson. Every time Mingyu thought of that, his heart beat faster for some reason. But that became tiring and frustrating after some time. They were dozens of questions roaming Mingyu's mind, making him toss and turn in his sleep.

_What was happening to him?_

Wonwoo was in no better condition. Suddenly, he felt like Mingyu was everywhere. Everything reminded him of the footman, or something silly he had said. He jumped every time someone said Mingyu's name, trying to eavesdrop those people's conversations. His world, once wide and full of dreams and ideas, was narrowing down to one person. One person that Wonwoo found he could be as comfortable with as when he was alone.

After a few sword fighting lessons, Wonwoo finally acknowledged that something wasn't the way it was supposed to be in his relationship with the footman. Something felt different, unique. He wanted to explore that new territory, but he was blind, unaware to where it might lead.

The realization came to him one day that he was drinking tea in his room. Junhui was there with him. Something seemed off about the Chinese knight though. He was quieter than usual. He has locked his eyes on Wonwoo for a couple of minutes now, mumbling things to himself around his cup of tea. Wonwoo was doing a great job ignoring him, until the other decided to open his mouth and drop the bomb.

"Are you and Mingyu together?" he asked, eyes glinting with curiosity.

Wonwoo felt his throat closing. He accidentally swallowed a big gulp and began choking. He spat out his drink and whined over his burnt mouth. He really had been around Mingyu a lot; his whining had rubbed off on him.

For a few moments there was death silence in the room. Wonwoo wanted to laugh, to brush his friend off, to tell him that no, Mingyu and he were just great friends. But something was still restricting his throat, and it wasn't the tea.

"What?" Wonwoo finally said with a dry voice.

"I believed you heard me the first time, but I'll repeat myself for you." Junhui snickered, placing his tea on the table between him and Wonwoo. "What's your relationship with the first footman, Wonwoo?" the Chinese asked again, a faint smirk forming on his thin lips.

Wonwoo stared at him for a while longer. _We are friends of course_ , was just in the tip of his tongue. But Wonwoo wasn't stupid. He had read a lot of books, he had seen knights around him getting together with the town's girls. Deep down he knew why he found the footman so fascinating to be around. It certainly wasn't for his good sense of humor, or his great education, or his limbs’ coordination.

Wonwoo's internal teasing of Mingyu made something fond bloom inside him, something warm that had appeared from the very beginning of their relationship. He had accepted that as normal for Mingyu. But now, thanks to Junhui, the horrifying truth dawned upon him. Did he... Did he _like_ Mingyu? As in... romantically? No way. He had never felt this kind of attraction towards anyone in his life. But then again, he hadn't felt like he did for Mingyu for anyone else before.

If Wonwoo was one thing, he was objective. And every sign pointed towards the same direction.

But no, this was all too much. He had frozen on the spot from the shock. Junhui would probably think something bad of him. He had to talk to him.

But Wonwoo couldn't find the words. He always knew something was wrong with him, he had known all his life that he was not like some other knights. But this. This was just wrong. How could he ever feel like that for a man? Even if the man was as handsome and funny and smart as Mingyu...

He placed a hand on his mouth terrified.

Junhui sighed. "Wonwoo, you look pale." he observed.

Wonwoo hadn't said a word after the question Junhui had asked. He was just sitting there, palm on his mouth, eyes wide. His skin had changed ten colours with the last one being a sickly white. He still couldn't reply, being rigid and lost in his thoughts.

"Wonwoo, it's okay, I am sorry for prying. You can tell me another time yes?" Junhui said, smiling sadly, obviously regretting questioning him about his relationship out of the blue

He made a motion to move and get out of Wonwoo's room. That was when Wonwoo snapped out of his daze. He grabbed Junhui's arm and looked at him with scared eyes.

"No... No, it wasn't you..." he stuttered. "You didn't do anything wrong Junhui." he said again. "But that question... What do you expect me to tell you?" Wonwoo whispered and at Junhui's confused look he continued. "Even if it was true and I had a romantic relationship with... with Mingyu..." Wonwoo flinched as he voiced it out loud. "This would be unheard of. This is illegal and wrong. I would never be honest with you even if you were right."

"Wonwoo..." Junhui heaved a sigh. "I understand what you're saying. But I want you to know something. Whatever troubles you, even if it’s the smallest, most significant thing, you can always tell me.” Junhui emphasized, taking Wonwoo’s hand in his. “I won't judge you. I'm your friend, even if you don't know me so well. You can trust me." he smiled, gently caressing Wonwoo's knuckles.

Wonwoo's softened a bit, but he still shook his head. "No Junhui, you don't understand. There is nothing like that between Mingyu and I." Wonwoo desperately tried to convince his fellow knight.

He felt in pain. His head was hurting and a huge wave of emotions has overtaken him. He was scared, terrified even about his discovery. He was in disbelief, partly disgusted and partly angry with himself. But most of all, he was anxious to convince Junhui that he was wrong, because if he didn't, that could be the end of him. The many negative emotions and thoughts had him at their mercy.

And he hated himself even more when a part of him still wanted to seek refuge from all of this at the small flares of happiness and affection Mingyu offered him.

Junhui took his hand away gently. With quick moves he lifted the small table that separated them and, placing to the side and kneeled in front of Wonwoo.

"Wonwoo please take a deep breath for me, yeah?" Junhui guided calmly, looking directly at the knight's eyes.

Wonwoo slowly complied, drawing a shaky breath before he spoke again. "I don't know what you are thinking right now Junhui, but it’s not that. I have nothing with Mingyu. I am serious." he tried to voice firmly.

"Alright, Wonwoo don't be upset. I'm not saying anything." Junhui answered back carefully.

Wonwoo felt like he was going to break at any moment. Worry was creeping inside his limbs, like wild weeds spread threateningly inside a well-tended garden. His eyes darted around the room, trying to spot something, anything that wasn’t Junhui’s honest eyes. Something that would calm him down, bring him gently back to reality.

A terrible knot formed inside his stomach at the realization that everything in his room was reminding him in a small way of Mingyu. The person for whom Wonwoo was currently, trying to not have a panic attack over.

"There is nothing between you and him then. Like, _nothing_ nothing. You just know each other. Am I correct?" Junhui continued with his questions, halting Wonwoo’s train of thoughts. "You are just acquaintances."

Wonwoo nodded but he immediately felt extremely guilty. He couldn't classify Kim Mingyu as merely an acquaintance.

"We are becoming friends..." he murmured. "Just like you and I."

"Well then... Let me ask you this." Junhui smiled warmly at his friend. "How exactly would you describe _our_ friendship. What does it make you feel? What do _I_ make you feel?" Junhui asked, seemingly cringing with himself.

Wonwoo took some seconds, thinking over his answer. "I think you are fun to be around. I'm not someone to pour my feelings out to anyone, but you are close enough. You umm how can I say this... You are there. I am not so alone anymore. Not that I didn't like to be alone... You were a change in my life that I accepted and tried to make the most out of it. I am quite happy with the way we are building this relationship." Wonwoo eventually said, scrunching his nose.

He had just said that he didn't pour his emotions out, yet here was at the same time contradicting himself. Perhaps Junhui too had become more important than Wonwoo realized.

"I'm glad I hear that." the Chinese knight said, his smile growing more. "So another question. Would your life change if I disappeared?" he asked.

Wonwoo wanted to reply yes, just so he wouldn't hurt the other boy's feelings. But it wasn't the time for being nice. He needed to figure out the truth, and Junhui's probing questions helped.

"I... I would probably miss you for a while... But after that I would get back to my routine. I would never forget you though..." he voiced honestly.

"Well, that hurt." Junhui laughed. "But anyway..." he sighed. "I forgot to ask you. How long do you know Mingyu?" he said casually.

Wonwoo hummed low. "I met you two approximately the same time." he calculated. "Maybe some God thought I was too lonely and decided to suddenly fill my life with nice people." he sighed, scrunching his nose again.

Junhui laughed. "You are very lucky then." he grinned with a knowing smile. "So." he paused. "What would happen to your life... if Mingyu disappeared?" Junhui said slowly, focusing on Wonwoo face.

Wonwoo automatically flinched, and immediately regretted it. Why did that question feel more offensive than the last one? Mingyu wasn't like Junhui. He wasn't just a quiet, calm presence in his life. The footman made him think. He made him reconsider his beliefs, he had opened a whole new perspective on life. Wonwoo hadn't thought a person could be dissatisfied with his life as Mingyu, but still act as happy and carefree as the footman did.

The boy was full of contradictions. He had had long talks with him and to Wonwoo's immense joy and surprise Mingyu seemed to have changed some of his opinions based on what Wonwoo has told him as well. Even though Mingyu was one year younger, Wonwoo felt like he had found someone that they could grow as humans together. And that was one of the strongest feelings he had ever experienced. So even though he knew what he should say to Junhui, the words died in his throat.

"Look Wonwoo..." Junhui sighed, his hands rubbing his temples lightly. "Whatever you're thinking. It is not wrong, okay?" he punctuated. "And I honestly say to you that there is nothing abnormal with you. Everything is fine." he continued, placing a soft hand on Wonwoo’s kneecap.

Wonwoo’s head shot up at that. What was Junhui even saying? Could he maybe read his mind?

"How do you know? How do you know what I am thinking, and how do you know it's not wrong? I might be thinking about general Jihoon smiling. And you know that is very very wrong." Wonwoo frowned at his own words.

Junhui’s face scrunched up, obviously trying to suppress his urge to laugh. He fanned himself with his hand before he procced to continue his talk.

"We humans are made to feel lot of emotions. And one thing that I'm a hundred percent positive about is that true and happy feelings are never wrong. When your heart flatters with joy, it’s never _wrong_. When your lips stretch upwards because something, or even someone, made you happy, it isn’t _wrong_. And most important, _love_ is never wrong." Junhui said softly.

He then took Wonwoo's hand in his, tracing small comforting circles on his palm. It was a way to tell Wonwoo that everything was going to be alright and that he didn't have anything to be afraid of.

Wonwoo looked at the ground, feeling conflicted. Junhui couldn't mean what he said, could he? If he knew about what Wonwoo was thinking he would hate him, right? If he told him, would Junhui stay and continue to comfort him, or would he rat him out? Wonwoo could lose his job, his honor and even his life over this. How could Junhui be so calm? Wonwoo felt so overwhelmed.

Suffocating bubbles rose from his stomach, passing through his lungs and settling at the back of his throat. They popped and suddenly a sob wrecked his body and before he could control it, he felt tears running down his cheeks.

Junhui was taken a back with the sudden outburst. He quickly recovered, though, and scooted closer to Wonwoo, wrapping him in a warm hug. "No, no, shh... everything is alright Won. I'm here for you. Don't cry." he shushed him softly, rubbing his back gently. "I won't leave you if you think that. We are friends remember? Even though you wouldn't be very affected by my absence.” Junhui joked. “But I promise you on my life and my honor that I won't leave your side. That's what friends do. They stick together no matter what, yeah? "he continued.

Wonwoo sobbed harder on the other knight's shoulder.

"I-I'm so sorry J-Junhui..." he choked out. "I'm so sorry... I didn't want this to happen I swear... I didn't realize..." he added before more sobs took his voice away from him.

"I know Won, I know..." Junhui whispered trying to make his friend calm down. "But please believe me when I say. There is nothing wrong with you. You didn't commit a crime or anything. You just..." he inhaled. "You just fell in love. And that's incredible. Love is happiness and a blessing, not a curse." Junhui continued.

He broke their hug but didn't leave Wonwoo. He sat beside him and place the knight's head on his shoulder. Junhui slid his fingers in Wonwoo's brown locks and started stroking them gently.

"There are a billion things wrong with me..." Wonwoo murmured. He stared at the floor with unseeing eyes.

So, Junhui knew now. Wonwoo failed to keep his mess hidden. For some reason he couldn't fathom, Junhui seemed supportive. He couldn't stop worrying though, he had to make sure Junhui understood the importance of this being kept a secret.

"Junhui, you realize that this terrible right? You absolutely cannot tell anyone about this. I could lose my life." Wonwoo said.

"Wonwoo do you hear yourself?" Junhui asked, lifting a disapproving eyebrow. "Of course I won't tell anyone. I'm not a rat or anything..." he huffed, a bit offended.

Wonwoo sighed. Maybe he had one less thing to worry about now. He took a deep breath, his tears had dried now, only sniffles coming out of him. A sudden thought crossed his mind then, one that he couldn’t help but voice out loud.

“How did you even find out? I hadn’t realised anything before you pointed out.” he asked, voice hoarse from all the crying.

Junhui flashed him a mischievous smile. “Actually, I knew it since day one, when I bumped into you. Your aura screamed the fondness you felt for one another, I sensed a strong connection between you two. Everything became clear at the prince's birthday though. Late at that night, when I took the shift of patrolling around the castle, I saw you walking towards the stables’ benches.” he explained.

Memories flooded in Wonwoo’s mind about that night. The night that everything changed inside him. “You didn’t tell me that you were there. I didn’t see you.” he spoke softly.

“I _was_ ready to call your name as soon as you sat down, but then Mingyu appeared. I saw him try to sneak up on you so I sat down. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. So I waited, deciding make an appearance after you had greeted each other, but the chance never came.” Junhui said, brushing Wonwoo’s fringe away from his eyes.

“Why though? You could have just popped out at any moment. It wasn’t like we would have sent you away.” Wonwoo frowned.

“The atmosphere was different from the beginning of your talk. I felt like I was intruding just by _watching_ you. So coming out felt awkward. And then you started dancing...” Junhui gave him a pointed look, a smirk curling around his lips. “I don’t like stalking, but I love to observe the people around me. To gain knowledge about them. It helps me understand them better. So I stayed the entire night. I’m sorry about that by the way.” he admitted. “And then there were all those times that you dropped me to hang out with Mingyu. You even spent your time teaching him sword fighting. To a completely inexperienced person.” he stated. “It wasn't that hard to come to the conclusion.”

Wonwoo gave him a tight smile. Now that Junhui was mentioning all those things, it was indeed pretty obvious that _something_ was going on between him and Mingyu. Yet Junhui hadn’t told his thoughts to anyone, choosing to ask Wonwoo directly about them. He didn’t report him, neither he made rumors about him. He just asked for confirmation.

The two friends remained in silence for a while, with Wonwoo still in Junhui's arms. At some point, Wonwoo spoke again.

"You know, from now on it wouldn't be okay if you left. I wouldn't be okay with it." he voiced softly.

Junhui chuckled. "Now I'm happy to hear that.” he said, ruffling Wonwoo’s hair lightly. “Don't worry Won. Anything you want, and I mean every possible thing that you may need my help with, I'll always be glad to do it."

Wonwoo pursed his lips. "I don't deserve it." he mumbled. "It isn't right..."

"I don't think so. I believe you deserve everything you want." Junhui smiled and let Wonwoo go.

Wonwoo didn't have anything else to say. He was still overwhelmed. He had been totally unprepared for this. One moment he was having fun and relaxing with Junhui and the next he was a sobbing mess with feelings for another man. He still felt terrible about it.

"Just to be clear though." Wonwoo began, clearing his throat. "I don't think I am in love... I just... I just really like him, you know?” he groaned. “This is so hard." he put his head in his hands.

"Take your time Won. No one is forcing you." Junhui said, patting him on the back, before he stood up. "Come on! Let's go for a walk. A little fresh air will help you clear your mind." he suggested, a smile tagged on his lips.

Wonwoo nodded, standing up as well. He fought the urge to curl up in his bed and hide from the world. It was very fortunate that Junhui was with him. He couldn't imagine dealing with this alone. He would forever have been in denial.

He followed the other knight through the door and down the stairs. Wonwoo thought about how he absolutely couldn't let Mingyu know about this. He had to fight this crush before it destroyed his relationship with the footman.

Like sensing his dilemma Junhui spoke again. "It's difficult but not impossible." was the last thing he said, and then the two fell in silence.

It was the 20th of November when the knight Jeon Wonwoo realized his books couldn't have prepared him to face his feelings for the first footman named Kim Mingyu.

~*~

At the _27th of November_ , Wonwoo met Mingyu for the first time after his big discovery. The footman was returning from shopping at the town together with Chan. The tall servant almost immediately ran to him and asked him about his day.

Wonwoo was stiffer than usual, but he couldn't deny the happiness he felt when he saw and talked to Mingyu, especially now that he knew where it stemmed from. Chan hadn't said anything, he felt too out of place between the other two.

At the _9th of December_ , during sword practice, Mingyu successfully defended himself from Wonwoo's attack for the first time and he was over the moon.

Wonwoo had given him a warm and soft smile. _I'm proud of you,_ he had said and that had made Mingyu's insides stir weirdly. He had made a mental note to pass from the infirmary when they returned.

At the _20th of December_ Mingyu and Minghao were on a walk, but Mingyu was underdressed and he was freezing. Wonwoo saw them, and even if he usually didn't interrupt the footman's time with the prince, this time he approached them and gave Mingyu his own coat. When the footman protested, Wonwoo said that his shift was over and he was getting back to his dorm anyway.

Minghao had raised an eyebrow at his friend when the knight left them, only for Mingyu to brush him off with a shrug.

At the _28th of December_ Mingyu was really really excited.

New year was close and the celebrations had already started in the kingdom. Snow had dressed Gisa in a soft white cloth and the town had never looked more beautiful. Mingyu had seen Wonwoo training in the cold and he immediately wanted to take him in his room and place him in front of his small fireplace, shoving a cup of hot tea in his hand.

And that was exactly what he did. That evening, the moment Wonwoo stepped in his room, he wrapped him with blankets, laughing loudly when the knight looked at him like an unamused caterpillar.

It was the evening of the _31st of December_ , a day before New Year's celebration, and Mingyu hadn't put the mop down from the time he woke up until now. The rest of the servants and he had been running all day inside the castle, cleaning every corner of it. It was an important thing for them to welcome the new year with a clean household, so they could make a fresh start. But the servants weren't the only people that were constantly moving. Soonyoung hadn't touched his office chair not even for a second. He was busy making sure that everything was spotless clean and arguing with Seokjin about the new year's celebration menu.

"Soonyoung for the last time, if you try to tell me how to season my chickens again I will boil you in hot oil." Seokjin had tried to push the younger away from the table he was working on.

"I'm telling you that you should first put the olive oil and then season them." Soonyoung was kept insisting. "And stop pushing me I’m here for a reason and I won't leave before I think everything is going according to my plan."

"Soonyoung I swear I will hurt you!" Seokjin had yelled back pushed harder.

"I said stop pushing me hyung! I have orders from the king!"

Soonyoung’s shouting had echoed through the whole castle. The commotion was so big, that even a few of the kitchen staff had start backing off slowly.

Mingyu was told that Seokjin had even grabbed a wooden ladle, hitting Soonyoung on the shoulder.

"The king knows that my cooking is perfect I don't need you here!" he had shouted.

Soonyoung's face had become so red, a few maids had commented.

"I won't do you any favor, I'll stay HERE!"

The yelling had continued up until late at the evening, when all the preparations had finally ended.

Mingyu had finally finished his duties and he was in his room, getting ready for the event. He loved new year's celebration. Unlike most of the formal ones, this time not many guests were invited. It was an evening for the people of the castle to say goodbye to the old year, to honor their beloved who had perished and enjoy themselves.

General Jihoon had most of his knights roam around the palace grounds all day, placing small lanterns so when the night fell everything would be illuminated. At midnight, the lowly servants and the knights were separated from the high-ranking ones and the royals, but the feeling of celebrating together was still there. At the end of the last dinner of the year, the servants were allowed to take home the leftovers to their families. Mingyu couldn't wait to wish everyone a happy new year.

After getting ready, Mingyu exited his room and headed towards Minghao's dressing room. He climbed the stairs up, whistling excited. When he reached his destination, he knocked lightly on the door.

The door opened to reveal Chan. The young valet was also dressed formally and he had combed his hair back, making his forehead visible.

"Oh hyung! Glad you came. Handsome as always!" the young valet smiled, shuffling to the side so Mingyu could walk inside.

"You look great too Chan!" Mingyu beamed. "By the way, have you heard? Soonyoung hyung and Seokjin hyung had a huge fight this morning." he added, entering the room fully.

"All the palace heard hyung." Chan rolled his eyes. "I don't get why all that commotion though."

Mingyu pouted. "Soonyoung hyung doesn't usually get into fights. I wonder what put him in bad mood. He is so anxious lately." Mingyu voiced concerned.

"Aren't we all a bit?" Chan mumbled, averting the footman’s eyes. "Don't worry hyung, I think it is something temporary. Everything will be back to normal." he said positively.

Their conversation was interrupted by the bathroom's door. Minghao emerged inside with his hair wrapped in a towel. He was wearing most of his clothes, one of his fancier outfits to be exact. Mingyu giggled at the crimson red cape that tangled around Minghao’s slim legs. It was the most prominent colour on him, with the rest of his outfit consisting of a black satin blouse and dark breeches.

"Oh hi Mingyu." he greeted "What do you think?" he asked pointing at his body.

"Fancy and stylist." Mingyu voiced his thoughts.

"As always hyung." Chan completed. They both flashed their characteristic smiles.

Minghao smiled back satisfied.

"I like your hair Chan. And Mingyu, if you ever want to court a lady, you might as well do it tonight while you look like that." he added pointing his finger towards his friend.

Mingyu frowned. Should he really try courting a lady tonight? More like, did he _want_ to?

"I'll think about it." he said skeptically.

"I think it's a great idea! What better chance than tonight? You will start your year fresh, with a lady by your side!" Chan piped up excited.

"I said I'll think about it. Please don't pressure me." Mingyu frowned, his mood beginning to change.   
"I think we should get going it's already half past eleven. Minghao did you light your candle?" he asked, trying to change the conversation.

And he succeeded, as all the attention was now on the prince. Minghao smiled faintly and looked at the ground.

"I did. I wouldn't forget about something like that..." he mumbled softly, closing his eyes.

It was another tradition. People lighted candles in the memory of their dead family members. They also left their original seats on the table empty and the doors opened so their spirits would come and visit them. Both Mingyu and Chan smiled sadly.

"I hope our Queen will come to see you again this year." Mingyu said softly, ruffling Minghao's wet hair. "Yuck." he whipped his hand on the towel that was now placed on the prince’s shoulder.

Minghao slapped his hand half-heartedly. "Chan let's fix my hair and get going. We shouldn't be late." he said calmly.

It was this time of the year when the Queen's chambers were unlocked and cleaned. The doors were left open the entire night. Minghao would pay those rooms a visit every year, after everyone was asleep. It was silly of him, he has told them before, but he needed a little time to spend with his mother in his mind.

"Yes hyung let's go." Chan said and followed Minghao on his dressing table.

"What I'm supposed to do?" Mingyu whined.

"Wait here if you want. Or you can go wish your new knight friend a happy new year." Minghao suggested, eyeing him through the mirror.

"Maybe I'll do that later. Right now I'm with my family." the footman smiled.

Both Minghao and Chan turned to look at him at once.

"That was so sappy." the prince smiled back. "But I am so glad you feel that way."

"We grew up here together...so that makes you two my family. That's what I'll always feel." the footman stated and closed the distance between him and his two friends.

Chan looked at him curiously. "Not that I don’t appreciate it, but what brought this on hyung? Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"I believe I am. Why?" the footman asked back. Chan simply hugged him.

"It is a little weird for you to suddenly get all emotional on us." Minghao pointed out. "But I like seeing you happier Mingyu. I don't know what has happened to you these past weeks, but I’m really glad." he reached over Chan's head to pat him in the shoulder

Well, Mingyu knew perfectly well what happened to him. Jeon Wonwoo happened. From the day they met, Mingyu's world became so positive, so bright. Every time he saw the knight Mingyu's heart warmed up. Wonwoo was all that he was thinking now. Yes, it made the poor footman's nights miserable, but it was worth it.

"I'm happy to hear that." Mingyu said softly.

Chan tried to untangle himself from Mingyu and turned to Minghao. "Hair time." he declared and they both settled in front of the dressing table, leaving Mingyu to look at them fondly.

  
  


~*~

"I heard you got into a fight this afternoon... with... em Soonyoung?" Jihoon asked the royal chef.

It was a couple of hours earlier that two knights had passed outside of his office's opened door, speaking about Seokjin's and Soonyoung's argument, and it had caught the general’s attention. Soonyoung rarely became part of arguments. His lovely spirit and joyful aura prevented him from even killing a fly. Something wasn't right. So Jihoon decided to make a small investigation. That was mainly why he was in the kitchen at the moment, talking to the palace's chef.

Seokjin huffed dramatically. "That little pest. I can't believe we are ending our year by not talking to each other. I don't know what kind of bug has bitten him, but he has been an anxious nightmare lately! I worry about him you know. But he is just so irritating sometimes!" the chef blabbered.

"Well you already knew that Soonyoung is like a leech. When he wants something, he doesn't leave even if you threaten him." Jihoon said grabbing another olive and throwing it in his mouth.

"It's like he doesn't know that I listen to him even if he doesn't annoy my ears off. I don't know what kind of _stubborn people_ he had been hanging around in the past to make him like this." Seokjin frowned, looking at Jihoon.

Jihoon choked on the olive he was eating. Immediately he started coughing. Did Seokjin just call him stubborn? Was that an insult? It wasn't his fault that Soonyoung was so prone to adopt his friends’ behaviors.

"Careful there." Seokjin shot him a dry look.

"So." he coughed. "What do you think is wrong with him?" Jihoon asked, taking deep breaths.

"Remind me why you can't ask him yourself?" Seokjin looked at Jihoon seriously.

"Because I'm very busy Seokjin-ssi. I don't have time for chatting." Jihoon said coldly, trying to mask his concern about his old friend.

"Oh, good to know that you don't think you are chatting with me right now. What am I, just something to pass the time while you are eating my olives? Kids these days." Seokjin complained, but he wasn't serious.

"Well then, maybe I should go. After all, it's time for the royal dinner. I hope you and Soonyoung talk your misunderstanding out." the general gave a tight smile and moved towards the door.

"Wait, wait Jihoon." Seokjin stopped him. "I'm sorry. I'm still a little edgy from earlier. Come finish your olives." Seokjin patted the counter the general was perched upon previously.

Jihoon heaved a sigh, returning to his previous place. He looked at Seokjin with skeptical eyes, before he took another olive from the wooden bowl and threw it in his mouth.

"So..." Jihoon paused. "Do you think that something bad happened?" he asked the chef. "Soonyoung isn't the kind of person that would start a fight."

"I think something is definitely bothering him. He is cheerful like always, but sometimes I feel like it is forced." Seokjin smiled sadly.

Jihoon hummed. Soonyoung couldn't fake emotions. He would always show what he truly felt.

"And do you suspect anything? Something that cost this change?" the general asked again.

"I don't know Jihoon, _do you_?" Seokjin said pointedly.

Jihoon understood the look in Seokjin's eyes perfectly. The chef obviously believed that Soonyoung's change was caused by their lost friendship, but Jihoon didn't believe it was true. Soonyoung seemed perfectly fine in the general's eyes. He was laughing and doing silly things like always. Jihoon didn't believe that the steward had been affected as much as Seokjin was claiming he had.

"I don't have a clue." he answered dryly, shrugging.

"Okay then. Maybe we’ll find out one day." Seokjin said. "So, are you ready for tonight?" the chef changed the subject.

"It's a dinner Seokjin-ssi... you don't need to be ready to eat and drink." Jihoon rolled his eyes.

"A dinner with the king, prince Minghao, prince Samuel and _Soonyoung_? Sounds fascinating." Seokjin smiled.

Jihoon threw a glare at the royal chef. Why did Seokjin have to always do this?

"Seokjin-ssi, I think the turkey is burning." Jihoon pointed at the stove.

"Yeah right, like I could ever let my food get overcooked." Seokjin huffed, crossing his arms on his chest. "It's okay Jihoon, everything will go well tonight." he reassured him.

"But I'm not worried about something." Jihoon said monotonically.

"Great. You should remain that way." the chef patted his leg and went to check the turkey.

Jihoon exhaled quietly. Honestly, this night had already started giving him a headache. And to think that he hadn't met with Soonyoung yet. Another sigh left his lips.

"Anyway, I should go. I believe the royal family would be ready to make an entrance soon." he voiced, leaning away from the counter.

"Goodbye Jihoon. I hope you like my dishes." Seokjin waved him off without looking back.

Jihoon was making his way towards the exit, before Seokjin called him.

"Oh and Jihoon." he said and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Happy new year."

"Em... thank you Seokjin-ssi. You too." the general answered and walked out of the kitchen.

~*~

New year's dinner had always been a calm, quiet and comfortable event. The lanterns the knights had spent most of their afternoon placing were finally visible. The dining room was dimly lit by the small candles, as opposed to the big chandeliers and that gave the room an intimate feeling. The room itself was mostly empty, apart from the main wooden table, dressed in a clean, white tablecloth. The servants had already placed the dishes and tableware accordingly to a royal dinner. The windows, although wide open, were covered with thick velvety curtains, enabling the light to reflect softly and beautifully around the room.

These arrangements made sure the atmosphere was somber and self-reflective. At the end of the year, everyone was supposed to have deep conversation with themselves and their beloved people, dead or alive, in order to improve for the next year.

Everyone was on their seats. The king was sitting on the head of the table with Minghao on his left. Of course, his brother was sitting on the other end of the long table, with Samuel and his wife seated at his two sides. Soonyoung's place was between the two princes while Jihoon was sitting opposite him.

Mingyu and Chan were standing some meters behind their prince together with the king's two butlers, Yugyeom and Jimin, and the other royal family's servants, Samuel's young valet Daehwi and their first footman Daniel. The only place that was empty was the chair at the King's right. The one that belonged to their deceased queen.

The two families were eating peacefully, having a light conversation about the country's affairs.

Mingyu observed amused as Minghao made eye contact with Samuel, trying to talk to him without words, so they wouldn't interrupt their parents. It was a skill they had somehow developed in all those family dinners they had to sit through when they were younger. He also observed that general Jihoon was not looking up from his plate. The king also seemed to notice his general's predicament as lightly addressed him.

"General Jihoon, is the food to your liking?"

Mingyu forced his laugh down his throat as he saw the general looking lost at the sudden mention of his name.

"No, my king... I mean yes, it's delicious..." Jihoon stuttered.

Soonyoung smiled softly, with his head turned the other way, Mingyu noticed.

"General Jihoon has recently taken part in a knight exchange with Zhanshi. A very clever move to further strengthen our bonds." the king informed his brother

"Hmm that's interesting. Really clever indeed general." the king's brother said, his golden cup on his lips. "You found yourself a quite talented young man, brother. I always tell you that." he smiled fondly.

"Thank you, your highness." Jihoon bowed his head. "The one who did the most for our relationship with China though is your son." Jihoon said.

Samuel gave him a surprised smile. "But I didn’t do anything. A marriage is not something _that_ important..." the young prince spoke softly, his cheeks dusted pink by the sudden attention towards him.

The entire table smiled fondly at their youngest family member. Mingyu himself has always admired Samuel for his dedication to his duties and his loyalty to his family. Accepting a marriage at such a young age, without a fuss or any objection was something Minghao, his best friend, would have never been able to do. Samuel's hard work and maturity had played a major part in not only the relationship between the two countries, but in the relationship of their own family. Mingyu knew how hard it was for a family, especially a royal one to be united.

"That's a really mature to say young man." the king said. "We are proud of you." he continued, pointing his cup at him. Samuel laughed softly.

Mingyu and Chan saw Minghao sighing, and exchanged a worried look. They hoped that the conversation didn't affected Minghao much. After all, it was New Year's Eve. Today was a happy and prosperous day.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the table, Soonyoung was staring at a bowl of caviar that was placed on the opposite side of him. Mingyu noticed that he couldn't reach it, and as the steward, he probably didn't want to seem rude and interrupt the royal's talk to ask for it. He shyly looked up at the person that was right next to the desired food.

Jihoon seemed to catch him though. He followed the steward's gaze, that was casted upon the silver platter with the fish eggs. Then he looked directly at him only to find Soonyoung's eyes staring right back at him. Their eyes locked for seconds. The general grabbed the platter gently, put some caviar on his plate and then placed it back on the table, but this time was within the steward's reach.

_He thinks he is subtle_ , Mingyu thought amused. _Wait until I tell Wonwoo about that_.

After a few seconds, Soonyoung picked up the bowl that was significantly closer to him and proceeded to eat like nothing happened.

The time was passing quickly. The clock had struck midnight half an hour ago and now the royal family had moved on to the desert.

They had had a moment of silence the moment the day changed, in order to welcome the new year with respect and make their important decisions, as it was the custom. Mingyu was certain Minghao has stopped making decisions like this long ago.

After silence fell, Mingyu heard the noise from the outside. It was the servants' celebration that was taking place at the army's building. The weather was freezing, but that didn't stop the people from moving all around the castle grounds. The candles outside must have been a beautiful sight after all. Wonwoo probably was somewhere down there, Mingyu thought, and honestly he couldn't wait to join him. The feast was getting tiring for him and he was thankful that they finally reached dessert.

Another hour passed, and Mingyu found himself climbing down the big staircase, with Chan by his side. Yugyeom and Jimin were following suite as well, together with the other two servants. The king and prince Minghao had retreated to their private rooms, Samuel's family was resting in the guest room. That left the six servants free to attend the gathering at the army's building.

"Finally freedom!" Chan groaned, rolling his sore shoulders.

"How much do you want to bet that Jungkook's already in the kitchen packing for tomorrow?" Yugyeom said as they descended the stairs.

"Bet he has taken something for the way home too." Jimin laughed, agreeing with Yugyeom.

"I hope that Seokjin has retired for the night, or else we will eat roasted knight tomorrow," Mingyu said, a hand messing up his hair.

As if on cue, the young knight Jungkook emerged from the kitchen, a piece of chicken pie hanging in his mouth. Yugyeom and Jimin burst out laughing. Mingyu snickered too. No matter how much Jungkook had grown and they drifted apart, he always remained the same young boy he knew.

Mingyu had always admired the knights, idolised them even, but before he met Wonwoo he hadn't considered that he already was somewhat friends with one of them. Jungkook just didn't count, even though he was ridiculously strong. Maybe he should have realised from this, that knights were just normal people and spared Wonwoo from having to knock some sense into him.

Suddenly a wooden ladle flew out of the kitchen, missing Jungkook's face for inches.

"Food is for everyone you little thief rat! Don't come back in here until tomorrow, you hear me!" Seokjin shouted and Jungkook stuck out his tongue at him, only to quickly duck a second ladle.

"Hyung please don't kill Jungkookie on the first day of the new year!" Jimin said, grabbing Jungkook's arm and pulling him away from the looming cook.

"I won't if you manage to take him away from the food." Seokjin threatened, waving one more ladle threateningly.

Yugyeom slapped Jungkook in the head, ducking his head to take a bite out of his pie. "Seriously though, that's such a nice pie." he said with a mouthful.

Jimin smiled all sweet and innocent at Seokjin, pushing the other two towards the gate and out in the courtyard.

"Are you coming hyung?" Chan asked the royal chef. “We are gonna celebrate with the rest of the staff.”

"Not yet, I have to prepare packages for all you youngsters to take home, I don't trust anyone younger than me in the kitchen alone with the older staff. And I thought I was going to feel lonely that I didn't have any family at the castle. I feel like I am responsible for so many children already." Seokjin huffed but it was out of endearment.

"Hyung... Do you want me to help?" Chan said, pitying the older.

"No my dear Channie. Your hyung can handle these things pretty easily. Go gave some fun. You deserve it after all." the chef smiled and ruffled the valet's hair.

"Come on Channie." Mingyu nudged the younger. He was getting impatient.

It was getting late and he knew Wonwoo didn't like celebrations that much. Mingyu would be extremely disappointed if he arrived early and his knight had gone to sleep, which was very likely, Mingyu thought grumpily. His year wouldn't start well if he didn't see Wonwoo, and all this talking was taking forever.

"Alright I'm coming. Goodnight hyung happy new year." the valet smiled warmly and left Seokjin's side to join Mingyu again.

"Happy new year!" the chef shouted back, watching them go fondly.

As soon as they were out, Mingyu started walking a little faster, bypassing some servants that were gazing around. The palace admittedly looked beautiful. Candles could be found at every iron stand on the walls, creating a deceptively warm atmosphere in the cold night. But Mingyu only had eyes for the entrance of the army building.

They walked through the half-opened door, only to be greeted by loud music and the sound of equally loud laughter. There were so many people, both servant staff and knights equally. They chatted idly, greeting one another with warm smiles and wishing happy new year. Mingyu walked further inside, towards the big lounge where the gathering was held. When he entered through the door though, he froze at the sight.

No. Wonwoo was definitely _not_ sleeping, was the only coherent sentence the run through Mingyu's head.

In the middle of the mass of people there was a circle were knights and servants alike danced to the music. Mingyu would normally have looked around to see if he knew anyone on the makeshift dance circle but he felt his world narrowing down on one person. Jeon Wonwoo was in the middle of the circle. His shy, quiet knight was moving to the rhythm of the music, carelessly laughing with someone next to him. Mingyu couldn't even register who Wonwoo was talking to.

The soft light hit him in all the right ways, illuminating his admittedly handsome face and obscuring his somewhat graceless moves. _I taught him that._ Mingyu though. _He had no idea how to dance. I did this, I am responsible for this_ he kept on thinking. _He looks so happy. I did that._ Mingyu felt a pang through in heart. It was nothing like he ever felt before.

Wonwoo always made him feel strange, but never to that extent. He was swept with something so powerful that he needed to sit down. But he had nothing to hold on to. This feeling has successfully swept him and there was he could do stop it.

_I want that_ , he thought, and it was simple like that.

He wanted this. He wanted Wonwoo laughing and being happy. He wanted to be the one to provide that happiness. He wanted to be right next to him, he wanted to fight off any trouble that came his way. He wanted to teach him everything he knew, and he also wanted to learn stuff from him. He wanted to be able to lean into him when he was sad and he also needed him to bring him happiness. He wanted Wonwoo, all of him, his golden hair under the candlelight, his nose that seemed to always scrunch up, his determined, strong jawline, his lips that were currently stretched wide to create his beautiful smile.

It was that simple. How hadn't he figured it out earlier? As the realization hit him, Mingyu really needed someone to support him.

He took some steps behind, reaching the door’s wooden frame. His heart had picked up the pace, his breath becoming shallow and his legs weak. The realization came so strong, that it almost knocked him out. He wanted him. He wanted Wonwoo to be his, and only his.

But that... that was wrong. How could he desire something so out of reach? Those things were impossible. Mingyu breathed in and out darting his eyes as he tried to focus on something. His gaze fell on his knight again, only this time, Wonwoo was looking right back at him. His sharp eyes were sucking Mingyu's soul out of his body. They were stripping him naked. He felt so exposed all of a sudden.

And Wonwoo immediately left the circle and made his way towards him, oblivious to the turmoil that was Mingyu's mind and heart. Mingyu selfishly wanted that too. The way Wonwoo prioritized him over his previous activity. He couldn't stop looking at him as he approached him happily.

"Happy New Year!" he said once he reached him, evidently excited.

Mingyu cleared his throat, trying to seem as normal as possible.

"H-happy New Year hyung." he cursed under his tongue. He would always become a stuttering mess whenever he found himself in those kind of situations.

"How was the dinner?" Wonwoo asked but Mingyu really struggled to pay attention to what he was saying.

He was so mesmerized by Wonwoo's presence, his willingness to spend time with him, it was surreal. With a quick glance behind the knight’s back, he realised it was Junhui who Wonwoo had left behind on the dance circle. That meant that he was somehow special to the knight, that he wanted to talk to him even over his closest friend, and that filled Mingyu's emotional capacity to the brim.

"It was lovely. I have to tell you everything." Mingyu smiled as a wave of sudden courage washed over him.

Wonwoo tilted his head and beamed up at him. Even his smile was different than before, Mingyu noticed.

"I would love that." he answered.

Mingyu had never been very good at controlling his impulses. This was his limit. Before he could think his actions throughout, he pulled Wonwoo into a tight hug, right in front of the main door.

Wonwoo stiffened at the sudden contact.

Realizing this, Mingyu let him go. "I-I..." he tried. But nothing came out. What he should say? Was he supposed to apologize? Definitely. "I'm.... sorry about that." he said sheepishly, his head hanging low.

"What was it for?" Wonwoo asked with genuine curiosity.

"Well I... nevermind." Mingyu smiled. He couldn't bring himself to explain. He couldn’t even explain it to himself. "So, what would you like us to do?"

"We can walk around a bit, dance, go outside? We have all night. Let's have some fun." Wonwoo suggested. "And whatever it is that worries you, leave it for tomorrow. I'll still be there to help you." he added.

Mingyu's heart melted in his chest. Why so sweet? His handsome knight was something else. "How about going for a walk. I could tell you about the dinner." the footman offered.

"Do you have your coat? I don't want you to get cold." Wonwoo said, smoothing his hand over Mingyu’s thin shirt.

"Yes, don't worry." Mingyu smiled and started walking towards the exit.

_What a night..._ Mingyu thought, taking a deep breath of the cold air. _I guess I'm saying goodbye to sleep for a few days... Or years..._ he stifled a sigh and felt his heart swell at the sight of Wonwoo hurrying to follow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for today!
> 
> Hmmmm.... something is starting~~~~  
> But- I say nothing more!
> 
> Next Saturday with the next update the story finally starts to form.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter and as always we are looking forward to your comments below.
> 
> Until next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy.
> 
> -SkWh


	7. Mingyu's decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo Peopleeee!!!
> 
> Saturday is here again!! But it is NoT just one ordinary Saturday I'll tell you that.   
> I don't want to spoil anything so I won't talk much, just a tiny clarification that the first part of this chapter is a small filler.
> 
> SO, without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~~

Seokjin was exhausted. The New Year's Eve had tired him so much that he woke up with an excruciating pain on his lower back. After six hours of standing, his bones had begun complaining. Seokjin was only thirty years old and yet he felt like a middle-aged man with poor osteine capacity in his bones. He sighed as he mixed the soup, a plain dinner for the royal family after the previous night's grand meal.

At least, most servants were gone for the day, so he had less mouths to feed. It was almost evening and most of them should be getting back from their families, at least those who lived inside the town. He hopped many people had appreciated his food for lunch. He liked to think that he was somehow helping to provide everyone with what they needed.

Even if working at the palace all day every day could be challenging, Seokjin felt like he was made for that job. He didn't have any other family or friends outside. He had first arrived here hopeless and poor, with his only skill being mixing ingredients to make decent food. It had been hard, but with persistence and guidance from the former chef he had managed to become the man he was today.

He had made many friends, he had found a new family, many little brothers and sisters to take care of. Because of his own experience, he didn't want anyone else to be in the same position he had once been, lonely and hungry and scared. He loved watching the kids younger than him grow into adults, and he wanted to be there to help them if they ever needed anything, food or otherwise.

And because that was the role he had decided to take on in his life, he knew some fights were unavoidable. Seokjin always felt sad, but he could usually count on his little friends to come to their senses and apologize to him.

As a cue to his thoughts, a knock was heard. Seokjin raised his head and looked at the opened door. Soonyoung was standing there, a hesitant look on his face. He was fidgeting his fingers, trying to find something to say. At the end, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a quiet, “Hello hyung”.

Seokjin smiled faintly. Soonyoung was always like that. He had a temper, a fire burning inside him. He was always excited and cheerful, but he could easily blow up under stress. But if one thing was certain, it was that he could not stay angry and not talk at his friends for an extended period of time. At least that was what Seokjin had been certain about two years ago. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

"Hello, Soonyoung-ssi." he replied calmly.

"I see you're busy… I should probably come back later." the steward said and made a motion to turn and leave.

"Kwon Soonyoung." Seokjin said and crossed his arms on his chest. "Say it."

Soonyoung froze on his spot. He sighed deeply, dropping his shoulders as he returned to his previous spot.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday hyung. I shouldn't have meddled with your business." he mumbled, eyes never leaving the kitchen's floor.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Seokjin smiled.

It was hard to remember that the little smiling kid that used to come to him when he hurt himself playing around was now his superior, but Seokjin still had to respect that. He owed him an apology too.

"Of course, I am sorry too. I should have been politer. I understand if there is going to be some kind of punishment." he bowed a little.

Soonyoung's head snapped up, shocked.

"Hyung? What are you talking about?! Of course not! I would never do such a thing to you!" the steward answered quickly. "It was a small wrangle, nothing serious you know."

"Good. I was more worried about what brought this 'small wrangle' on anyway." Seokjin gestured at the counter the general was sitting atop the previous day. "If you have time, please take a seat."

The blond smiled, his eyes almost closing. He quickly moved into the kitchen, giving a small back hug to Seokjin before hopping on top of the wooden counter.

"So hyung what are you making?" he asked, happily moving his feet back and forth.

"Just vegetable soup, don't get excited. Your stomachs need to calm down after last night's dinner. How was your family?" Seokjin asked as he passed Soonyoung the same bowl with olives that Jihoon had been eating from last night.

Soonyoung accepted them happily. It was eerie how much these two could resemble each other but be so vastly different at the same time.

"Great as always. My mom knitted me a scarf and my father cooked that delicious grilled fish. I had a great time." he smiled as he took a stump out of his mouth.

"That's great. Did they like my food?" the chef asked.

"Of course hyung! Your food is blessing. I always say that, and my parents agree. The chicken with the olive oil was a real success!" Soonyoung answered happily.

"How about the spicy paprika pork feet? Mingyu wouldn't stop bothering me about-" Seokjin began but he was interrupted by the loud slam of the door.

"Hyung I'm back. D'you miss me?" Jeon Jungkook, the young knight that was the bane of Seokjin’s existence walked towards them with a huge smile on his face.

The boy hadn't even unpacked his bag and he was already coming for his food.

"Jeon Jungkook what a nice surprise to see you in my kitchen. Again." the chef said monotonously, putting the pot away from the fire.

Only then the boy seemed to notice the steward that was munching on the olives.

"Umm hello Soonyoung-ssi... hyung... mister steward sir!" he said awkwardly but determined and Soonyoung bit down his laugh.

"See... I'm the only one that he doesn't listen to. The disrespect." Seokjin huffed and Soonyoung laughed so hard. 

"Hello, Jungkook-ssi. How are you?" the steward said after calming down.

"I'm great. Hyung?" he turned to Seokjin "You won't _believe_ what a success that chicken thingy you made was. You have to do it again."

"Thingy?! You call my recipe a thing-y?!" Seokjin screeched. "How dare you, young man!"

Jungkook made a face, unfazed by the chef's outrage.

"Whatever. What are you making? I hope that green flavoured water is not for the knight’s dinner." the boy continued and Soonyoung almost chocked on his olive.

"That _water_ is vegetable soup you little- and of course it's not for you. It's for the royals." the chef answered lifting his face high.

"Thank god. Jinhwan hyung needs proper nutrition to grow, you know?" Jungkook laughed.

That made both Soonyoung and Seokjin laugh really hard, despite being inappropriate.

"I doubt that Jinhwan-ssi can grow anymore though." the blonde said, whipping his tears away.

Seokjin looked sideways at the steward. He had missed a great opportunity to point out the general's height as well. Two years ago, he wouldn't have let it drop so quickly. Just what had happened between those two? The fact that he never got a proper answer out of them was like a thorn to his side. He didn't have time to think about that now though, because a third person appeared at the kitchen's doorway.

"Jin hyung, is the food almost ready?" a smiling groom master said. "Shall I make a sandwich, or you will choke me again?"

"Hoseok I've told you already that sandwiches aren't real food." Seokjin eyed him seriously.

"Green water isn't real food either." Jungkook said, already taking out bread and a knife.

"Jeon Jungkook you know I'm not afraid to hit you!" Seokjin threatened, reaching to take a ladle.

"No, no, no, it's okay hyungie!" Hoseok smiled wide and grabbed Jungkook away from his task.  
"I trust that you wouldn't let me starve, so the food must be almost ready!" he said cheerfully, but the chef had practically raised these boys, he immediately noticed the double meaning of his words.

Hoseok was trying to make Seokjin's responsible side come out. If the food wasn't ready, the chef you would feel guilty and let him eat something else. Stupid, clever Hoseok.

Seokjin eyed him carefully. Although most of time he seemed like an absent-minded person, the groom master would always get things done quickly. He could fool you if he wanted to, but he was a really bad liar. Seokjin could read him like the back of his hand. In fact, he knew all of them enough to understand that they would never leave him alone if they didn’t get something to eat soon. So, with a smirk on his face, he opened the oven and revealed a big griddle. A roasted chicken was laying in the middle, accompanied by small potatoes.

"You were saying?" he raised his eyebrows both at the groom and the young knight.

The reaction of his three young friends was exactly what one might think it would be.

"Ah hyung you never disappoint!" Hoseok said dreamily.

"Seokjin you are my favourite hyung." Jungkook said already reaching for a plate.

Soonyoung laughed and patted him on the shoulder, from the top of the counter.

Of course, at this point, Seokjin wasn't even surprised when the door of the kitchen opened again, to reveal a very hesitant prince Samuel.

"Prince Samuel-ssi what brings you to my humble kitchen?" the chef said, bowing along with the other three.

"Umm sorry for intruding but... Something smelled really good in here." he said and fully entered the room. "Seokjin hyung, I want to taste your food as long as I am able to." he smiled.

Seokjin's heart melted in his chest. Samuel was a really sweet kid. He would never admit it, but he felt a little bitter about him marrying into another country. He knew that it was for the grater good, that it would strengthen the bond between the two kingdoms and blah blah blah, but Seokjin wouldn't be able to see him often anymore and that made the chef pretty sad.

"Of course young one, come here." he said warmly.

Samuel was naturally all skin and bones. If it was up to Seokjin, he would feed him all day every day. The boy and his family did not live in the palace, but he spent a great amount of time here, getting tutored and being taught the basics about sword fighting, after his father insistence.

He was the youngest of the kids Seokjin provided for, but he had never quite bonded with him as he had with the others that were permanently here. Nevertheless, he was happy to always speak to the little prince and was surely going to miss him.

Seokjin snapped out of his daydreaming when Jungkook broke his plate and cursed loudly.

A moment of total silence followed. Four pair of eyes were now on Seokjin. And within a matter of seconds, the royal chef had grabbed his silver pan and started chasing Jungkook around the kitchen.

"Come here you little-!" he yelled.

Soonyoung laughed and slid off his seat, to take the chef's place at serving the other two.

"Prince Samuel first, hands off Hoseok!" he scolded the groom's grabby hands.

Hoseok whined childishly, but he moved aside. The young prince laughed a little and poked a potato with his fork, placing it in front of the stable master's lips. The brunette smiled widely, opening his mouth and eating it with delight. A small, silly dance that followed brought laughter to the young prince.

"Hyung, stop throwing things at me the chicken is getting cold!" Jungkook said as he evaded yet another wooden ladle. "Hyung, I swear if you don't stop, I'm getting Jimin and you will pay for it!" Jungkook said as he tried to hide behind Samuel. Seokjin surely wouldn't hit the prince, right?

Indeed, the royal chef stopped in front of Samuel, smiled apologetically and with a quick move hit Jungkook on the head. "That's for ruining my porcelain dinnerware. Now... where were we?" he asked going back to his soup.

Soonyoung took a step away from the small company. "I better get going, steward duties and stuff like that." he sighed.

Seokjin's head turned. He could practically envision Jihoon from two years ago patting the blond on his back and saying _fighting_. The steward's face would light up, he would look at the shorter boy like he hanged the moon on the sky, and he would complete his duties happily. Seokjin felt so comforted by their friendship. He knew that if anything happened to him, at least these two would have each other.

The same couldn't be said for Jungkook though, he thought as he looked at the young knight. If anyone asked Seokjin, he loved all his children equally. But the brown-haired knight always managed to make him feel like he was a real older brother, be it with their fighting, or with the long talks they had when Jungkook was lonely. Feeling soft, he reached and pulled Jungkook into a hug.

"Umm hyung?" the boy said.

"Shut up and try this soup. Does it need any more salt?" he asked, still not completely letting go of the younger.

Jungkook eyed the green soup and gulped. "Do I have to? Why not Hoseok-hyung?" the knight practically begged the head groom with his eyes.

Seokjin ruffled his hair. "You are the chosen one. Come on." he laughed.

The young knight sighed. He took a spoon out of the small drawer under the counter and proceed to taste the soup. He took a spoonful, watched it carefully before he gulped one more time and took it into his mouth, not forgetting to close his nose first. He tasted the liquid, working out the flavor, before he gasped.

"That..." he pointed at the pot. "Tastes better than I imagined it would." he said and flashed a smile, bunny teeth showing.

"Does it need any more salt?" Seokjin asked again, his arm still around the younger's waist.

"Definitely not." Jungkook answered. He quickly took a bowl out, scooped some soup in it and started eating it eagerly. Hoseok's mouth dropped and Soonyoung started laughing one more time. Seokjin looked like a proud mother hen.

With a last wave and a small bow at prince Samuel, Soonyoung left the warm atmosphere of the kitchen.

At the same moment Jimin and Taehyung walked in.

"Hyungs, just in time!" Jungkook said. "Seokjin hyung made an incredible green soup today. You should definitely taste it." the knight waved them over.

"Jungkookie are you eating vegetable soup? Are you okay?" Taehyung rushed at his friend. "Jin hyung what did you do to him?" he said suspiciously.

"There's no way I'm eating that." Jimin whispered raising his eyebrows as he pointed the big tin pot.

"Again with the prejudice..." Seokjin sighed. "I didn't do anything! He willingly took a bowl out, filled it up and started eating. It's not my fault that my skills in the kitchen are perfect." he replied smoothing out his clothes. "Tell them Hoseok. Did I do something?"

Hoseok, mumbled something with a mouthful of chicken and shook his hands up and down dramatically.

"I think he is trying to communicate with us." Taehyung said at Jimin, smiling.

"Hoseok hyung swallow first and then talk." Jimin laughed at his hyung’s ridiculous face.

Hoseok made a face and took another bite of his chicken, before even swallowing the previous.

"Umm I'm sorry to interrupt, I am finished." Samuel gently placed the dishes on the sink.

"It's okay my prince, I will take care of it." Seokjin patted him in the back and then turned to the rest of the chaos. "Oi! Don't y'all have work to do?" he shouted.

"Of course we have." Taehyung butted in. "We came to clean that griddle before the food gets cold."

A series of laughs followed. Seokjin sighed deeply, before smiling. He just loved his little brothers too much.

~*~

While all this happened at the ground floor of the royal castle, at the very top of it an entirely different situation was taking place.

Mingyu had climbed all the way to Minghao's study room, seeking some privacy. The following day after the new year's was always a slow one. Only very few of the staff had actual work to do after they returned back from their homes. So, the higher-ranking servants were expected to take some time off their duties, to relax as well.

Despite that, Mingyu was far from relaxed. He was sitting squeezed at the far corner of the room, looking outside of the window with a sad expression marring his handsome characteristics.

Dark circles decorated the smooth skin at the underside of his eyes, as yawns scrunched up his face every few minutes. It was obvious that he hadn't been able to get an ounce of sleep.

His previous night had been amazing. He and Wonwoo had danced together, they had eaten together. They had taken the time to look at the glowing lanterns, basking on each other’s comforting presence. They had even shared their stories about the dead people they hoped would visit them that day.

It was frightening how much Mingyu had enjoyed himself.

But underneath the seemingly fun time he had, there was something way deeper lurking, ready to devour him the moment Wonwoo and he parted ways.

He liked Wonwoo. As in, romantically liked him. It was such a strange feeling. On one hand, nothing really changed. He was sure his feelings had been the same since day one, he just couldn’t recognize them back then. On the other hand, absolutely everything changed. Mingyu wouldn't be able to act natural, like he had all this time. He took notice of every touch, he had to be extra careful about what he was saying. And that wasn't something he was very good at.

Mingyu was a clumsy person and he definitely did not have a brain to mouth filter. How would he be able to hide such a thing from the very person that was causing it?

His mind ran in a never-ending circle. He liked Wonwoo a lot. He wanted to be with him every hour of the day, yet he couldn't say that out loud, it would sound so wrong from the begging to the end. But he couldn't let Wonwoo go either. The knight had brought so many new feelings and ideas in Mingyu's life. Even his work became more interesting as it gave him time to think about the knight, without the prince or Chan making fun of him.

Wonwoo had made one of Mingyu's dreams come true. He had always wanted to meet a knight, and even in his wildest dreams, Mingyu would have never imagined someone like him. Without Wonwoo, he wouldn’t have realized that knights were ordinary people too, that they had feelings and personalities, not only swords and shining armors.

All in all, Wonwoo had been a blessing to his life. But those feeling of his were just wrong. How could he take something as pure as his friendship with such an amazing person and defile it like that? He was a terrible man.

But on the other hand… where else would he ever find a girl that made him feel the way Wonwoo did? The bitter answer was nowhere. Wonwoo was unique. He was one of those people that just clicked with Mingyu. Wonwoo made him feel so much better about life, about himself, about pretty much everything.

And it seemed like it was mutual. The knight smiled so much more, he just looked so happy sometimes and maybe Mingyu was delusional, but he liked to think that he was partly causing that. So was it _that_ wrong if he wanted more? He wanted Wonwoo to feel even better, to offer him more. Maybe there was a little hope after all.

But no, Wonwoo would never accept that. Mingyu groaned. And the vicious cycle of his thoughts continued.

He stood up and started pacing back and forth. Maybe if he moved a little his brain would start working properly. And then maybe he could come up with a solution to his problem. He sighed again and again, working up his brain.

Nothing. Every thought that passed through his mind was somehow connected to Wonwoo, and not in any beneficial or proper way. The footman stared out of the window. The mountains were so beautiful. All white from the snow... Just like Wonwoo's pale skin. And the river that crossed under the bridge that connected the town with the main land was flowing and surging, just like the different shades in the knight's foxy eyes. Mingyu cursed under his breath. Wonwoo was the only thing that could occupy his mind.

How long had it been like this? He knew he thought about Wonwoo a lot, during work and during the times he daydreamed around his friends, and especially before he went to sleep. Mingyu facepalmed. He should have realized something was wrong earlier. It wasn't healthy for another man to be in his thoughts all day every day. _But this in no ordinary man, this is Wonwoo_ , he thought. Having Wonwoo on his mind motivated him greatly, and like he had already established, made him so much happier.

Mingyu sighed, as his thoughts turned back to their previous condition. He had no idea what to do. And he couldn't talk to anybody about his problem.

Or maybe he could. Perhaps he could talk to Wonwoo himself. After all, he was the cause of this chaos that was created inside Mingyu's mind and heart. He was responsible for his sleepless nights and foodless days. But how could he say such a thing out loud?

Wonwoo would never be accepting about something like this. It would freak him out, it would make him stay as far away from Mingyu as possible. And that's assuming that he didn't report his perverse at his higher ups. Mingyu could lose his life. Cold sweat drenched him at that thought. He didn't want to die. He just wanted Wonwoo.

It was that moment that Mingyu realized that he was seriously screwed. He liked another man. He liked someone the same gender as him, which was a crime. And that was when Mingyu's logic flew out of the window.

He started panicking. His breath started coming out short, droplets of sweat forming on his forehead. He tried fanning himself with his hands, but it was useless. "Maybe I should go out to get some fresh air.” he mumbled and dashed downstairs.

Until now, his only problem had been that he had feelings for Wonwoo, his friend. Of course he knew Wonwoo was a man, but he hadn't realized what that meant. There was no way he would come out of this unscathed. He would either end up dead or miserable.

Mingyu put a poker face to evade anybody he met on his way out. His way to deal with emotions like these was not lashing out, crying or screaming. The exact opposite happened, he froze inside, his mind completely shut down. He could not think straight. _Ha. You don't say,_ his own brain mocked him, out of his control.

Mingyu took a deep breath as he reached the courtyard. His lungs were burning and his heart was working part time. He had completely lost control over his body. He was making circles around himself, trying to produce a coherent though. His vision got blurry, unshed tears threatening to fall. He was panicking, and he had no idea how to stop it.

Suddenly, he spotted something in his dizziness. A shadow that was coming through the castle’s main gate.

What time was it? Weren't the servant supposed to be back by now? Unless it was a knight. They usually returned later. Mingyu's partly dead brain decided it was a good idea to hide behind a bush and wait for the figure to approach.

He rubbed his eyes and squinted. He tried to make out the other person's characteristics. Not tall nor short, light brown hair. Thin, and that made him swim inside his big coat. Small waist and a sword in his left hip, tangled up in a leather belt with a big silver buckle.

Wait a minute. He knew that belt. It was made out of black leather and it was so used, that the colour was scratched out in some places. The buckle had a lion on it with a ruby for an eye. He would definitely recognize that belt from miles away. And the owner too. Jeon Wonwoo.

His heart did a somersault. After all the time he had spent thinking about the knight in confusion and trouble, here he was in front of him. It is so vastly different to think about a person and seeing them, Mingyu realized. All morning his thoughts had been heavy and burdensome but now that Wonwoo was in front of him, these feelings were replaced by relief. Wonwoo was here, so everything was okay.

A sudden feeling of courage bloomed inside him. He should talk. He should explain everything to him, he had no other choice. He inhaled sharply and with a quick move he came out of the bushes, startling the knight.

"Woah Mingyu!" the knight put up his hands in defense, but he didn't achieve anything as the footman grabbed his arms.

"I need to talk to you." he said firmly, dragging him towards the gate again.

"Wait what?" Wonwoo stumbled, almost dropping the bag he was carrying "Mingyu... What?" was the only thing he could say in his shock.

But the footman wasn't answering. His grip only became tighter as they run down the stone-paved streets.

Mingyu only focused on the warmth of his knight's hand.

It was comforting; holding Wonwoo. He had no idea where he was going, what he was doing. He was out of the palace without permission and he was dragging a knight down a busy road. He vaguely registered Wonwoo's voice asking for an explanation and his weak efforts to stop him, but Mingyu refused. He needed that. He had no idea what _that_ was, but he needed it right now.

The footman made a tight turn inside a small street and Wonwoo was dragged after him.

Immediately they found themselves in the old hospital. The building was as old as the castle, but it had been abandoned years ago because of the long distance it had been from it. Thick busses covered the courtyard's iron door, making it dark and unfriendly. Mingyu searched around with his eyes. He was sure he had seen a small opening on the wall before.

Truthfully speaking, it wasn't Mingyu's first time in that place. Quite the opposite. Chan and he had visited it lots of times to find medical herbs that were still growing in the back garden.

After a minute, he spotted the hole on the right of the main door. He made a beeline to there, squishing himself inside. Then he turned and looked at Wonwoo.

"Mingyu you better start explaining!" Wonwoo crossed his arms on his chest, not moving an inch further. "What happened, are you okay?"

"Follow me. I'll explain everything to you." Mingyu answered with a small smile, that stubbornly bloomed on his face despite the situation.

Wonwoo pursed his lips and looked around him uncertainly. They were breaking a million rules right now, much more than they had ever broken together, Mingyu was aware. He just hoped Wonwoo had grown to trust him and his impromptu decisions as much as Mingyu did. 

Wonwoo’s alert eyes only softened when they landed on him and the pleading face he was making. It was a good sign that it was exactly after their eyes met that Wonwoo muttered a ‘ _screw it’,_ and climbed through the hole to the abandoned building as well.

Mingyu led them further inside, up the stairs and across a small bridge until they found themselves at the back of the building. The place was eerie but so beautiful. Everything was covered in snow. Tall trees were filling the place along with other small ones. At the center of the backyard there was a marble fount with a small pond around it. Wooden benches were all over the place. Picking one, Mingyu sat down.

In the beginning, Wonwoo was too busy looking around this new place to notice Mingyu looking at the ground and gathering his courage. He had to do this. There was no other way. No time to panic, no time for second thoughts. He had to trust Wonwoo with his feelings, with his hope, and if it came to the worst, with his life.

"Wonwoo..." he tried to say but it came out as a whisper .

Wonwoo stopped looking like a lost puppy upon hearing his name. His head whipped back to Mingyu and he quickly came to join him on the bench. Mingyu squished himself trying to look as small as possible.

"Mingyu what's wrong? Did something happen?" Wonwoo asked softly placing his hand on the footman's shoulder.

 _This is so comforting_ , Mingyu thought. Wonwoo looked scared as well. At least he wasn't alone in that. He wanted to start speaking, to blurt everything out, but it was so hard. He needed a little more courage. So he took Wonwoo's hand from his shoulder and placed it on his thigh. He held Wonwoo's hand with both of his, trying to get as much support as he could. In a few moments, Wonwoo would probably throw him away. Mingyu hoped that he would be at least polite about it.

"Wonwoo hyung..." he started but his voiced cracked a little. "Have... have you ever thought of something that's completely weird or wrong or maybe.... illegal?" he whispered.

Wonwoo's eyes widened.

"I mean... _us_ being here now is pretty illegal." the knight said trying to lighten the mood, but it fell on deaf ears.

Mingyu appreciated the effort. Of course Wonwoo had realized that something was different the moment Mingyu held his hand. No matter how close they were, that was not something they did. Wonwoo looked so anxious for some reason, that was probably he was allowing this right now.

"Mingyu what happened? What did you do? I am here for you, you know that." he said softly and Mingyu felt the words lodging between his chest.

A small sob escaped his lips. When did he start crying and why? Maybe because merely the idea of losing Wonwoo was so scary. A couple of months ago he didn't even know this beautiful person, yet here he was, weeping at the thought of not seeing him again.

"I don't wanna lose you." the footman said softly, voice wobbly. "You're a really important person in my life Wonwoo. You came and changed me so much. And now I can't even think how my life was before I met you."

Wonwoo didn't say anything, and perhaps it was for the best. If he had interrupted Mingyu then, maybe he would have never found the courage to continue. He simply brought his other hand to join Mingyu's on his thigh, urging him to continue.

"A day without seeing you, speaking to you or even hearing about you makes me lose my mind. I can't sleep well at night and yet I'm in perfect condition in the morning because I know that we will meet. I've became more productive than ever. My point is...." he took a deep breath. "Hyung don't hate me please. Me without you in my life is unthinkable."

Wonwoo shifted in his seat, his hands trembled a bit. He took a deep breath as well, as he was the one who needed to calm down. He slid closer to Mingyu, he held him a little tighter.

"I'll never hate you. I can't." he whispered, uttering the least amount of words to get Mingyu to continue.

Mingyu wiped a few stray tears of.

"You remember the day we cooked together?" he asked smiling a little.

"Yes?" Wonwoo said.

"I would like do that every day for the rest of my life if I could. I knew you only one week and yet everything felt so domestic and casual. I liked that so much. The same with the dancing and fighting lessons..." the footman squished their hands.

"Mingyu..." Wonwoo was looking at him with such a strange expression. He looked so eager to hear more, like maybe he shared the wants. Most importantly, and Mingyu honestly thought that his eyes were deceiving him, he was looking at him longingly.

"Mingyu,” Wonwoo repeated and licked his lips. “Look at me in the eyes and say it." he found the courage to say.

Mingyu breathed in and lift his head looking straight into Wonwoo's waiting eyes.

"I like you Jeon Wonwoo. And I want you to be mine." he whispered eyes not leaving the knight's.

Silence enveloped them for just a fragment of seconds, before Mingyu’s words finally sank in Wonwoo’s mind.

"Oh my god..." the knight got up from the bench and looked at Mingyu with shock.

Mingyu was so scared. Why did Wonwoo get up? He wanted to be near him, now more than ever. Thankfully, Wonwoo leaned over him, both of his hands on the younger's shoulders.

"Are you sure? I mean, this isn't a joke, is it?" he said desperately.

"I cross my heart and hope to die. Wonwoo I want you so much..." Mingyu said, standing up as well.

Wonwoo slid his hands down his arms, grabbing his hands again, and Mingyu felt goosebumps being raised on their way. Wonwoo laughed nervously, all the tension leaving his body.

"I can't believe..." he tried to say between his breathless laugh. “One entire month…”

Mingyu bit his lip and lowered his head. "But I speak the honest truth... I know it’s something freaky and disgusting but.... this is how I feel." he continued.

Wonwoo sighed and put his arms around the Mingyu’s neck, bringing him close for a hug.  
"I like you too." he whispered in his ear and Mingyu froze.

The world came crashing down on him. Mingyu's eyes were ready to come out of his skull. He had expected rejection, humiliation and heck, even death. He had crashed every hope that Wonwoo may reciprocate his feelings because it had simply been impossible. He grabbed Wonwoo's shoulder lightly and detached him from his body, his gaze burning down on him.

"You mean that?" he asked, shock obvious on his characteristics. "But... how...?" he spoke louder.

"Honestly, I think I liked you from the beginning. Our relationship was always so different from others." Wonwoo shrugged. "My feelings came to my realization about a month ago."

"A month ago?!" the footman gawked. "Are you kidding me? I only realized it yesterday when I saw you dancing."

Wonwoo scrunched his nose. "I couldn't have been that great." he mumbled.

"You didn't see yourself as I did." Mingyu managed a shaky smile, relief rolling out of him in waves.

Wonwoo looked at him so fondly, that for a moment Mingyu could see it. He could see his feelings, the same feelings that were probably be reflected in his own eyes. But then, Wonwoo stepped away and began pacing around.

"I can't believe this is for real. This conversation… It's just so, I don't know. I've been trying to suppress this for a month and now…" he said and turned to look at Mingyu "Now what? What do we do?"

"Honestly I don't know." Mingyu said. He had been so ready to be rejected and return to his life as miserable as ever. But no, Wonwoo and he had feelings for each other, even if they couldn't tell or show it to anyone. If things had been serious before, now they were even more so.

"We have to talk about this. This is... kind of a crime you know?" Wonwoo frowned, now that reality was starting to catch up with them both

"Tell me about it. An hour ago I was ready to lose my mind because of that." Mingyu commented. "So, what do you think about it?"

Wonwoo looked at his troubled expression and his shoulders slouched. He walked back to where Mingyu was standing and hugged him again, and this time, Mingyu didn’t hesitate in burying his face in his hair.

"First of all," Wonwoo said, slowly and clearly, "Let's establish that if it's mutual... it is not wrong."

Mingyu bit his lower lip uncertainly. “Are you… sure?”

Wonwoo nodded, gently brushing his hand over Mingyu’s back. “I’ve had the exact same doubts.” he said comfortingly. “I had an entire month to spend coming to terms with everything, that it was alright, that there was nothing wrong or disgusted about me. Now… I’m here to convince you the same, no matter how long it takes.”

Mingyu sighed softly, sending a silent thanks to the skies for this moment. This was everything he hadn’t known he needed, Wonwoo in his arms, and both of them getting comfort out of each other. He loved this, but there was one thing that was still eating him up inside.

"Are you sure you want to stay with me? I don't want absolutely anything to happen to you." he sighed. "Truthfully, I don't care so much about myself. But I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt just because of me." he said softly.

"I don't want you to get hurt either!” Wonwoo looked up at him, appalled. “From the way I see it, we have two choices. We either forget this ever happened, we stop talking to each other, it would be like we never met. We accept that our feelings are not real and we move on. Or,” he leaned closer than he ever had, their faces inches apart, “we can keep this a secret, an _absolute_ secret that our life literally depends on, and see where it goes...”

Mingyu eyes fell to his lips. Of course they did, how could they not when the person he liked said stuff like that? Wonwoo saw the movement and he blushed quickly, his head pointing away again.

“What do _you_ think we should do?” Mingyu asked in a small voice. He didn’t like option one, but if Wonwoo wanted it… he didn’t have much of a choice.

“I don't know, I really don't know!” he exclaimed, without Mingyu needing to say anything. “I get flustered just by thinking of actually getting into a relationship with." Wonwoo confessed and sat at the bench. "But... I don't think I would be able to pick the first choice. Not after knowing that you like me back."

Mingyu smiled sweetly, and took a seat beside him. "Then I believe we only have one choice..." he said and took Wonwoo's hand on his, linking their fingers together. "Absolute secret it is! I would rather be dead than pretend I don't have feelings for you."

Wonwoo blushed again, and for the first time, he didn't try to hide it.

"Okay. Then... Are we, you know... Together?" the knight looked at the floor, still blushing.

"Yes... I believe we are!" Mingyu smiled widely for the first time since he woke up in the morning.

Wonwoo hid his head behind his palms groaning. "Stop smiling like that, you know how hard it was to pretend like you haven't got the best smile in the world for a whole month?" he mumbled.

"And do you know how much I struggled not to look inside those beautiful foxy eyes of yours?" Mingyu said back, touching Wonwoo's soft cheek.

"Yeah for about a night! I had to suffer for a month Kim Mingyu. You better make it up to me." Wonwoo said, but after he realized what that implied, he went as far away from the footman as the bench allowed, hiding his face in embarrassment. "I am so bad at this..." he mumbled.

"You know, I have the complete opposite opinion of yours." Mingyu laughed, scooting closer and trapping the knight between him and the bench's arm.

Wonwoo glanced at him from behind his hands and then looked back at the ground. "I've never... Umm... Courted a girl, like I've told you. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing." he said "But I feel like we should focus for a while and talk seriously."

"Of course." Mingyu said and backed off a little giving the knight his space. "Tell me what's on your mind?" he asked sweetly.

“Alright first of all, how does this change us? We can't like... go on dates or whatever else couples are supposed to do. I've thought about rooms also, remember how many times maids or other staff barged in on us? It didn't matter then, but now it's different..." Wonwoo said.

"You're right." Mingyu paused to think. After a minute he clapped his hands and asked. "How about we meet up here?"

"Here? This is the old hospital, right?" Wonwoo looked around him once again "It looks pretty abandoned." he commented "But how will we not be noticed? We still have our duties. And someone can still walk in here. We would need a guard or something." Wonwoo joked at the end.

"We could leave after out duties. Sneak out of the palace..." the footman said. "Although the guard thing isn’t such a bad idea. I wish we had someone we could trust so much." he continued disappointed.

Wonwoo looked up immediately.

"I forgot to tell you. Junhui knows." he said. "He is actually the one who forced the confession out of me. He... He's been helping me all this time."

Mingyu shot his head up as well, almost cracking his neck.

"What... Junhui-ssi? He was the one who made you realize? How, why did he do that?" Mingyu asked confused.

Wonwoo laughed. The memory was funny now, instead of bitter. "He asked if we were together. Causally, like that. He had been so accepting from the beginning."

"Seriously?! How on Earth did that happen?" Mingyu laughed along. "I always knew that Junhui-ssi was special. He has a kind aura, one that you can trust. I hope he won't rat us out though..." he narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think he will. He had many chances to expose me but he didn't. Maybe... I don't know, maybe I could get him to help us a bit sometimes." Wonwoo said skeptically.

"You can ask him. It will be our only chance at seeing each other like this." Mingyu commented.

"Alright. But apart from that... Our everyday lives don't need to change that much right? I'll still be teaching you sword fighting. We just have to be extra careful, no extra touching, no inappropriate comments. When we are not in here, we are just friends." he said.

"Of course. Don't worry everything is going to be fine." Mingyu smiled again, moving closer once again, like a magnet was attracting him.

Wonwoo smiled back fondly. "You are so positive. And I am so anxious. I believe I spoke more today than I have for the past week." he said and hesitantly placed a hand on Mingyu's knee. "I really have no idea what I am doing Mingyu. I still can't believe this is happening."

"Maybe this will convince you then..." Mingyu spoke softly and leaned in, connecting Wonwoo's lips with his in small, hesitant kiss.

Wonwoo's eyes widened for a moment, but then, Mingyu wrapped an arm around his waist and let him get lost in the kiss. They were fine, they were relatively safe, and they were together. They kissed with the inexperience one would expect from people that just shared both of their first kisses. Their soft lips touched and moved in a gentle dance, revealing the true feelings the two had for one another.

Mingyu wasn't like Wonwoo. He wouldn’t have been able to keep this a secret for an entire month, couldn't hold himself back, he just did whatever felt right. At that moment, he wanted his kiss to be reassuring, to let the knight feel some safety and certainty that they did the right thing. He wanted the kiss to be everything Wonwoo hadn’t had during that month that he had been unaware of his feelings. And soon enough, Wonwoo’s own hands found their way to Mingyu’s back, and started caressing him like they had before.

Mingyu didn't know how a small thing like a kiss could be so overwhelming. It was so sweet and it felt so right, like they had done it before, like this was what they had meant to be doing from the beginning. After a couple of minutes, they broke off, with Mingyu leaving another small peck on the knight's puffed, pink lips.

"I don't think I'm convinced yet..." Wonwoo murmured in his low voice.

"You’re just saying that to get another one, don't you?" Mingyu asked laughing under his breath.

"Can you blame me? It was... nice." Wonwoo said and tried to move a little closer.

"Come here." Mingyu replied and leaned in again, trapping Wonwoo’s lips in a more heated kiss.

 _I can get used to this_ , he thought. The feeling of having his breath taken away by soft lips. Wonwoo's soft lips. A man's soft lips. He had never imagined it would come to this. The situation had been so out of his controls, so many things could have gone wrong. It was exactly that feeling of helplessness that Wonwoo's kisses came to satisfy. This was good, this was nice.

Mingyu broke the kiss slowly and sighed in relief. Who knew that one little kiss could save him like that? A soft touch of lips lifted all the burden off his shoulders and replaced it with happiness. Wonwoo's kiss pulled him back from the corner he had pushed himself into. Mingyu smiled sweetly at the knight and caressed his cheek. _His_ knight, he corrected himself. Wonwoo was officially his. He leaned his head on Mingyu's shoulder and Mingyu automatically curled against him.

"Mingyu, are we really going to be okay?" Wonwoo whispered, touching Mingyu’s hand with his finger pads.

"We will. I promise you. I will do anything in my power to make this last." he whispered in Wonwoo's ear, linking their pinkies together.

"I do trust you. It's everyone else I don't trust. I already feel that being here right now is dangerous." Wonwoo replied.

"Would you like to return then?" Mingyu suggested.

"Honestly, I would much rather stay here forever." Wonwoo tightened his grip on Mingyu's waist. "I never expected the day would come that I could have you." he smiled "But sadly, we need to be careful. You understand, right?"

"Completely..." Mingyu kissed his temple. "Maybe we should head back then. It's pretty late and general Jihoon will probably start looking for you. Plus I don't have an excuse for being out. If someone searches for me and discovers that I'm missing... I don't wanna know what's going happen..." he continued.

Wonwoo disentangled himself from Mingyu's hug, got up and offered a hand for to help him up as well.

"Hey." he suddenly said. "What about the guard at the entrance? He must have seen us going out. What do we do?"

Mingyu froze. "Wait what?!" he said distressed. "Oh my gosh I forgot about that! Do you know who was guarding the entrance?!" Mingyu shouted.

"Keep your voice down, you oaf!" Wonwoo flicked the taller's shoulder. "I didn’t see who it was. I was too busy trying to keep up with your long legs dragging me through hell and back."

"What are we gonna do?" Mingyu whispered-shouted.

"What _can_ we do? We walk back in. Trying to sneak in would be way worse. The sooner we return the better." Wonwoo said and began walking only to stop a second later. "Don't get me wrong, I'd take all the punishment in the world for us to finally have this conversation." he smiled.

"Wait." Mingyu spoke, smiling back and closed the distance between them. He grabbed the knight from the waist, locking their lips in another soft kiss. A moment later he stopped, pecking Wonwoo's lips a last time and said, "Now we can go." with a smirk.

"Stop smirking." a flustered Wonwoo pinched his cheek.

 _This is us now_ , Mingyu thought happily, despite the odds.

With that, the duo left the old hospital, taking the road back towards the palace. It hadn’t even be an hour since he had last been in that road, but he would have never thought that the next time he would be walking in that street he would have a… boyfriend? Boyfriend. His smile didn't leave his lips at all, not until they reached the castle at least.

Wonwoo had to elbow him to get him to calm down. They had to play this well. They were definitely in trouble with their superiors, they just had to make sure it was only because they left the castle without permission.

 _Which is still pretty serious. I guess that what they say about after committing murder, you can easily become a thief is true,_ Mingyu thought. A few months back he wouldn't have dared step foot out of the castle without fear of the consequences, but here he was now, hoping to only have _those_ consequences and not worse ones.

It turned out, the guard who had reported them actually knew Wonwoo and seemed very surprised at the knight's misbehavior. He tried to tell them politely that there was punishment waiting for both of them. He seemed even more surprised when neither tried to defend themselves, just quietly accepted their fate.

“That won't do.” Wonwoo whispered to Mingyu. “If we seem overly accepting they will know something is wrong. Try to put up enough fuss to not seem too disobedient, but don't seem to suspicious either.”

Mingyu had smiled cutely. “Hyung you're so smart.” he had said and Wonwoo elbowed him, trying not to blush.

After a quick goodbye they both returned to their places, getting ready for their punishments. Soonyoung was waiting for Mingyu at the entrance of the palace while Wonwoo was called at Jihoon's office as soon as he entered the army's building.

"Kim Mingyu..." Soonyoung said tapping his foot on the carpet.

"Soonyoung hyung!" Mingyu smiled innocently, trying his best to act like he always would have. "Hyung, I'm sorry, I really am! I know we shouldn't be out without permission, trust me I remember the last time it happened with Chan and prince Minghao, but it was important! It will never happen again, really!" he blabbered.

Soonyoung crossed his arms in front of his chest looking at Mingyu with disbelief. "You know that you will receive a punishment no matter what you say right?"

"I'm very sorry, really..." Mingyu tried to pout, but he wasn't feeling it, he was still excited from earlier.

"One week banished from your duties. No payment." the steward said firmly.

"But hyung-" Mingyu started whining.

"No buts Kim Mingyu! You make a wrong move you accept the consequences." Soonyoung said and turned his back, heading towards his office.

Mingyu wasn't sure if he should follow or not. Would he have normally tried to appease his superior? Definitely. But now it seemed such a bratty move. The steward was right, you make a wrong move, you accept the consequences. Mingyu was caught between wanting to act like he would have a few months ago to not arise any suspicion, and acting maturely, like he actually wanted.

He knew that he had changed after he met Wonwoo. But should he act like he hasn't just because now there was the danger of people finding out about their relationship? That wasn't something Mingyu thought he could do. So with a deep sigh he retreated to his room.

~*~

"Jeon Wonwoo." the general said and put the file he was holding down. "Care to explain why you run out of the palace with the first footman like that?" Jihoon raised his eyebrows.

Wonwoo stood in his place, eyes higher than the general's head.

"It was an act of no thinking sir." he said firmly.

"An act of no thinking? Is this what you have been trained for Jeon, acting without thinking?" the general said frowning, but not raising his voice "And with the footman none the less. I'm curious, what was so important that made a high ranking and respectable servant like him do something so irresponsible?"

Wonwoo didn't know what to answer to the general. He obviously couldn't say why Mingyu dragged him all the way out of the castle. And he certainly wouldn't say why he himself followed him without second thought.

"I'm terribly sorry sir. It won't happen again sir." the knight spoke.

Jihoon sighed, and Wonwoo looked at the ground guiltily. The general had always held him in a high esteem for his status because he valued peace and quiet. This was the first time he had messed up as a knight in all his years.

"The lightest punishment for getting out of the castle without permission is suspension from duties for one week. Considering your previously excellent record and assuming you haven't caused any other trouble, like abandoning your duties or messing up anything in the town, this is what I’m giving you. If you have done anything else though, I will find out Jeon Wonwoo."

"Yes sir!" the knight answer. He thanked all the higher powers on heaven that his parents had raised him to follow the rules and be consistent. He would have been in much more trouble if he hadn’t been so thoughtful of his actions before he met Mingyu.

That wasn't something he could afford to lose. Even if Mingyu made his life ten times more exciting than it used to be, that didn't mean that he had to get more irresponsible than necessary. Before anything, he was a knight, and a good one at that. He could keep all his excitement for his time with Mingyu, and let his quiet side take over when he was on duty. This way, he could find the balance he always seemed to search for.

Jihoon eyed the knight for one more time. "That's all. Go." he ordered and went back to his paperwork.

Wonwoo bowed at his general and exited the room. One week without payment. His mother would be disappointed. His fellow knights would talk about him behind his back. It wasn't every day that a knight got a punishment like this. He should really be ashamed.

But Wonwoo wasn't. He just felt immensely relived that the general hadn't pressed for more answers. That evening, when he entered his room and finally got out of his armor, he was the happiest he had ever been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL!   
> That. Was. It!!!
> 
> And with this chapter the plot finally starts!
> 
> I hope you liked this update, and we REALLY want to hear your opinion about the confession so we are looking forward, as always, to your comments below.
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy.
> 
> -SkWh


	8. A step further

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there people!   
> I hope you are good!!!
> 
> Saturday agaiiin, and this time we have the second monster out!
> 
> No clarifications needed here. Just buckle up because there is going to be a little taste of angst.
> 
> So, without further ado....
> 
> Enjoy~~~

"I heard that a knight got suspension last night... have you heard anything gē?"

Junhui ducked his partner’s sword and proceeded to attack.

"What do you mean Xuxi? Where did you hear that?" he asked, thrusting his sword forward.

"News travel fast. It was a guy from your floor actually. But I don't know much." Xuxi did a dramatic defense and smirked.

"You know, I also heard that." Yanan piped up from beside them. “I passed by general-grumpy-pants’ office yesterday and I heard some other knights talking about him. I think they called him Jon Wuenwo... Wunwo?" he continued, an eyebrow raised in thought.

"Jeon Wonwoo? No way. He is too pure for this." Jun turned to look at Yanan but was instantly smacked on the head by Xuxi.

"HA!" Xuxi yelled in triumph.

Junhui rubbed his head offended, immediately marching back to attack. "You. Have. Seen. Him. Before." he said to his best friend between sword clanks.

"Ooh is he the guy with the prince?" Yanan asked absentmindedly, not focusing enough on his own battle, and forever being on the defense.

"That one." Junhui answered and smacked Xuxi's sword out of his hand. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Wonwoo. There’s no way he was the one. You must have heard wrong." he argued.

"Yanan can you please focus?" Kun complained from the sidelines, interrupting their conversation.

He was the one supervising the duels. It was something their small group did every morning before the general’s exercises with the rest of the knights, just out of habit.

"Yes _please_ focus gē." Sicheng, Yanan's opponent, said, pursing his lips.

"But I'm pretty sure about what I heard. Besides, did you see him at breakfast?" Yanan asked, completely ignoring the other two.

"... No, I didn't. But he is the one that I became friends with, he would have told me if something was up." Junhui tried to reason.

"He got suspension gē. He can't find you unless you go to him." Xuxi pointed out.

"No way! I'm telling you, there must be a mistake! He is the definition of a good knight. What could he ever do?" Jun said and shoved Xuxi away, who had decided it was a good idea to attack with his fists now that he had lost his sword.

"Hey, hey, _sword_ fight Xuxi, remember? You lose your sword you stop." Kun clapped his hands, trying to maintain order.

Xuxi whined but picked his sword up, at the same time Yanan finally dropped his.

"Why don't you go and ask him?" Sicheng suggested, giving a pointed look to Junhui.

"Kun can I go?" Junhui asked their self-appointed leader.

"No. Switch partners, Yanan with Junhui, Sicheng with Xuxi." Kun ordered with a wide grin.

"Come on Kun, please. I need to know what happened." Junhui pleaded.

He just hoped that it wasn’t anything bad, like someone finding out about _the thing_. But if that was the case, wouldn't Wonwoo be arrested and not suspended? Either way, Junhui _had_ to know.

He felt Yanan gently grabbing his arm, a soft smile gracing his face. "This will be quick, Junhui. You can see him after. Right Kun?" he said, giving a pointed look towards their supervisor.

Kun sighed in defeat. "Whatever. Just, please focus for once." Kun implored, placing his hands on his waist.

"I will try. Junhui please be gentle with me." Yanan winked and lifted his sword.

"Always." Junhui winked back, and with Kun's signal they started.

Out of everyone in their group, Junhui got along the best with Yanan, with his aloofness and his great, at least according to Junhui, humor. As they exchanged blows, Yanan was noticeably trying to focus, so Junhui let him go on the offence for once.

"Whoa there!" Yanan said, taken aback. "You are extra kind today, my strong knight." he laughed.

"I should be a gentleman from time to time don't you think my dear?" Junhui joked and avoided another attack.

"Can you stop flirting! You're distracting me!" Xuxi yelled, his fight with Sicheng much more serious than Junhui and Yanan's.

They both laughed, and Junhui attacked again. He should finish this quickly, if he wanted to catch Wonwoo before the general practice.

"Yanan! I'm not saying it again!" Kun tapped his foot waiting for the other to finally get serious.

"Alright, alright... stop whining. Come on my knight, let's get serious." Yanan said and took his battle position.

"Fine. Let's show them a real battle." Junhui smirked, and when their swords clashed again it was much faster.

Yanan and Junhui were the best swordfighters in their small group. Both were smart, quick and they had extraordinary skills on the battlefield. When the two fought seriously, at least a scratch was bound to appear on someone's body.

Junhui, like he promised, was extra careful about hitting his friend. It was not an unusual feeling for him, wanting to protect the taller boy. So, it was much more challenging having to disarm him without any injuries.

But Yanan wasn't joking when he said he was always on the defense. It was his strongest point. Junhui huffed as he tried to get past his seemingly three arms.

The other three boys stopped to look at them.

"Remind me why you asked them to be serious?" Sicheng asked Kun, a questioning eyebrow raised.

"This will never end..." Xuxi mumbled, throwing his head back.

Kun smacked the other two in the head. "Watch and learn you two." he said strictly, pointing at the duel that was unraveling in front of them.

Junhui agreed with Xuxi. This would definitely drag too long and he didn't have the time.

"Yanan dear, I really need to see Wonwoo." he said.

The slight distraction caused his partner to lose focus, and scratch Junhui on the arm accidentally.

They both yelled loudly.

"Oh my god... Every time." Kun sighed, shaking his head.

"Junhui are you alright! I'm sorry!" Yanan shouted, clasping a hand in front of his mouth.

"Oh my god you hit me! You betrayed my trust! How could you!" Junhui wailed dramatically, trying to stifle his laughter and slight pain.

"I'm sorry my knight I didn't mean to hurt you. Will you forgive me?" Yanan asked kindly, taking Junhui’s ‘wounded’ arm in his.

As soon as they looked at each other in the eyes though, they both burst out laughing.

"Alright that's enough for today." Kun declared, waving his hands dismissively.

Junhui didn’t miss the chance. "Alright then, I'm leaving. See you later." Junhui blew a kiss at Yanan and then left.

He walked quickly towards the army building. Despite looking carefree with his friends, he was more worried than he showed. He just hoped that nothing serious had happened. He climbed the stair steps two by two, reaching Wonwoo's door in no time. He took a deep breath and knocked.

"Wonwoo? You in there?" he called when he only heard silence from the other side. "Are you sleeping? We have practice in a few minutes!" Junhui knocked again.

A grunt was heard from behind the door. Some shuffling noises followed, and the door opened slightly, revealing a half-asleep Wonwoo.

"I'm up, I'm up. What's wrong?” Wonwoo yawned.

"I believe that's my line." Junhui crossed his arms. "Did something happen?"

At that, Wonwoo stood up a little straighter. He looked at Junhui a little lost, like he was contemplating something.

"Yes Junhui... I guess I should tell you, of all people." Wonwoo said at last. "The thing is, I am suspended for a week. And what I am going to tell you... It really needs to be a secret." Wonwoo looked pointedly at his friend.

"Alright. Then let me in. We can't have that conversation here." Junhui pointed out and Wonwoo made way for his friend to pass by him.

Junhui entered the familiar room, sitting carefully on the carpet. "Alright. I’m all ears." he said, crossing his legs under himself.

"Alright. So, I trust you with this, which means that I trust you with my life. You know that yes?" Wonwoo said in a last effort to be cautious.

"Wonwoo I think we've been through this before. Don’t you think that if I wanted you to be arrested, I would have done that a month ago? I'm here and my lips are sealed." the Chinese knight said reassuringly.

Wonwoo unexpectedly laughed. Junhui was taken aback by the energy and happiness in his eyes, especially since he has just woken up.

"Yesterday evening when I was returning from home, Mingyu literally jumped out of a bush and dragged me all the way to the old hospital, with absolutely zero explanation. That's why I am suspended actually, because we left the palace without permission. But the thing is, Junhui, he confessed." Wonwoo exclaimed and sat back down at his bed. "He confessed that he liked me romantically, can you believe that? I sure can't. I still believe that there must be catch or something it's not possible for-" Wonwoo blabbered.

"Woah, easy there. Too much information in one sentence. I'm Chinese remember? I can't understand everything, so speak slowly please." Junhui laughed at his friend’s excitement. It was the first time since he met Wonwoo that he has seen him eager like that. Kim Mingyu was something else.

"Okay, you are right. The summary is, Mingyu and I are together." he spoke, letting it sink in for a while.

Junhui’s eyes widened. "Wait, what? Really?" he said surprised. "Oh my God! I told you I was right about his feelings!" he exclaimed.

"Shh be quiet!" Wonwoo hushed him but he was still smiling like a madman. "I have no idea if that was the right thing to do. It's so dangerous." he said, momentarily sombering up.

"I know, but look at you Won! You're so happy. Your face is glowing." Junhui pointed out, a huge smile splitting his lips. Those were wonderful news. Junhui couldn’t help but beam at the excitement his friend showed.

"I know right!" Wonwoo buried his head in his hands, getting excited again. "This is so strange. I have never felt like that before. Everything is telling me that what I am doing is wrong, but here I am doing it anyway."

"That's the beauty of it my friend. So tell me what happened after the confession. Did you talk it through?" Junhui asked a little more serious this time.

"Yes, yes we did. He had only figured he liked me at the new year's feast, can you believe it? He was still going through the whole _‘I hate myself for liking another man’_ phase, but I think I did a decent job at calming him down. He is way braver than me though, to find the courage to talk to me." Wonwoo commented, eyes shifting with fondness.

"I'm so proud of him, even if I’ve only ever seen him once. I can't imagine him going through the phase that _you_ went. A whole month without someone by your side is difficult." Junhui pointed out.

Wonwoo smiled proudly, nodding his head in agreement. Then something flashed on his face and turned to Junhui a little more skeptical. Junhui straighten his posture a little at the sudden change in Wonwoo’s aura. Clearly he had more to say.

After a beat of silence Wonwoo spoke again. "Actually Junhui, I have a favour to ask... It's completely okay if you refuse." he said, his hands threading uncomfortably in his lap.

"I'm all ears." the Chinese said, holding his ears playfully in an attempt to lift the atmosphere up.

Wonwoo scrunched up his nose at him. Junhui counted it as a success.

"So, one of our talks with Mingyu was about how we are going to meet each other without the risk of... well, death." Wonwoo started. "That old hospital provided great privacy, but little sight of the outside world. If we were to utilize it, we would need a guard." he explained shyly, averting Junhui’s eyes.

"Let me guess, I’m the only volunteer?" Junhui arched a teasing eyebrow.

"You would be the first choice anyway." Wonwoo smiled. "What we need is to sneak out unnoticed, then when we get at the hospital, you would stay near the hole we’re entering from, to keep an eye on intruders. I know it sounds very bad, I am sorry, we can pay you if you want and still there is no reason for you to do it-"

"Wonwoo, hey. Stop.” Junhui held a hand in front of the others mouth. “Of course I'll do it. I told you that if you need anything, I would be more than glad to help you. You're my friend." he said.

Wonwoo’s stiff shoulders relaxed again, a relieved sigh leaving his nose. Junhui took his hand away again, mirroring his friend’s grin.

"Thank you Junhui. You are a great man, I hope you know it." he said.

"I do." Junhui joked. "Thank you for trusting me, you're a great man as well." he reassured him and stood up to pat his leg.

"How are you like this though?" Wonwoo asked. At Junhui’s questioning gaze, he averted his eyes and started playing with his fingers. "How… how are you so nice? You're not like me, you have other friends, you probably know them longer too. Why are you doing all this?"

"You know, when I was young my mother always told me that being different is not a bad thing and I should respect others. As I grew up, I learned to embrace people with their little flaws and unique characteristics. You were the first knight I met when I came here. You immediately told me and showed me so many stuff and I'm so grateful for that. You think that something as small as a partner preference would ruin my opinion on you?" Junhui questioned lightly. "You're so much more than you think Wonwoo."

Wonwoo’s lips formed a thin line in thought. Junhui could practically see the cogs in his brain turn and twist, sieving tangled thoughts. So Junhui waited, anticipating what was about to come.

"We always talk about me. What about _your_ preference Junhui?" Wonwoo eventually asked.

Well that was unexpected. "My preference on what?" he tilted his head.

Wonwoo shook his head fighting back an embarrassed blush. "Umm.. uhh what's your favourite food?" he choked out.

Junhui raised an eyebrow. "My favourite food, huh?" he grabbed his chin thoughtfully. That was not what Wonwoo wanted to ask, but it would probably be for the best of Junhui humored him. "I really like spicy things. Anything that has that sweet hotness, you know?" he smirked.

"Great. I have to uhh treat you one day as a thanks..." Wonwoo said, scratching his head.

"I'd love that, thank you." the knight answered sweetly.

Junhui smiled lightly at the sight of his awkward friend. He could tell there were still more things he wanted to ask him. Would he actually do it though?

"Also, uhh do you have a girlfriend or something?" Wonwoo asked, awkward and out of the blue.

Junhui chuckled. "Wonwoo dear have you realized that I’ve only been here for three months?" he snickered. "But emm I had something like that back at my country. Nothing special, really." he said waving his hand dismissively.

"You did? And you left her to come here?" Wonwoo tilted his head.

"No, no she was a... from a long time ago. We haven't spoken to each other for a couple of years." Junhui cleared his throat.

"Oh? That doesn't sound like you." Wonwoo commented.

"Well it was for the best, you know. We were quite different. She was following the rules blindly, without thinking. Me on the other hand... I'm kind of more open minded." he smiled facing the other knight.

"Was she a high-class lady then?" Wonwoo arched his eyebrows suggestively.

"Well, she was and she wasn't... it was a little complicated." Junhui puffed his cheeks as he exhaled. "She was adopted by our general." he said and looked at the floor.

Wonwoo cringed a little at those words and Junhui looked at him questioningly.

"Sorry, sorry I'm just imagining _our_ general with kids. It wouldn't be pretty." he said and urged Junhui to continue.

The Chinese knight laughed at that. "You know, you shouldn't judge if people are good with their kids by how they treat adults. Imagine if general Jihoon had a daughter... wouldn't he become more cute?" Junhui questioned.

"Either that, or _she_ would end up like him and nothing is cute about that." Wonwoo replied. "So anyway, you were saying?"

"Yes... So she was our general's daughter, we were together for a year or so... but then after a particular incident, she left me..." Junhui said bitterly.

Wonwoo snorted. "Why would she ever leave the most handsome and talented man that ever existed? Didn't you tell her enough times how amazing you are?" Wonwoo mocked his friend.

"I know right? Even you acknowledge my beauty." he sighed dramatically.

"So what happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Junhui felt conflicted. He didn't know if he should reveal all these things about himself. Wonwoo was his friend, but there were some things that he had promised he would never share. Not yet at least. Nonetheless, Junhui kept talking, shoving his discomfort at the back of his head.

"Nothing much. I returned home one day to a letter of her. She was saying that she could no longer be with someone like me and she wished me the best..." the knight sighed.

"Is there something wrong about you I should know?" Wonwoo lightened the mood again.

"Nothing that will cost you your life don't worry." Junhui said. "Let's just say that this..." he gestured around, "isn't the first time this is happening to me."

Wonwoo merely blinked at him, at first not realizing what the knight was saying. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

Yeah, that was definitely too much. "Nothing... don't worry Wonwoo. Everything is going to work nicely." Junhui voiced, not in a mood to discuss further. Instead he chose to change the subject. "So, when do I start my guarding duties sir?" he faked seriousness.

"We uhh we haven't talked about that yet... We are still both suspended for the stunt we pulled last night." Wonwoo bit his lip.

"Right, maybe you should lay low for a while. We wouldn't want mister grumpy-pants knowing what's going on behind his back." Junhui advised.

Wonwoo snorted again. "Don't call our general mister grumpy-pants."

"Isn't true though?" the knight snickered.

Before Wonwoo could reply, a knock was heard at the door.

"Wen Junhui you made me ask around with my broken language skills to find your little sorry ass! Come out, we have practice!" an angry voice spit out at Mandarin.

Wonwoo looked at Junhui confused while the other just chuckled.

"I guess they are looking for me." Junhui said, as Yanan continued to bang on the door.

The knight stood up and walked towards the noise.

"Did you ask for me, my love?" he asked, opening the door.

Yanan crossed his arms on his chest. "My knight, you made me wait ages for you. How will I ever forgive you?" he said theatrically.

"How about me buying you a beautiful gift? Does that make you consider it?" Junhui asked sweetly leaning into Yanan's space.

Yanan leaned even closer. "Nah, there are other ways to satisfy me." he winked.

From the back of the room, Wonwoo coughed awkwardly.

"Not now my dear, we have people looking. Later." Junhui winked back. "So Wonwoo!" he clapped his hands. "I'm gonna head back to training. I will pass by later to talk some more, yeah?" he smiled.

Wonwoo looked wearily between the two Chinese knights. "What just happened?" he asked.

Yanan waved at him and hesitantly Wonwoo waved back.

"Not something you should worry your pretty little brain with." Junhui laughed, waving his off. "I have to go, alright? I'll see you later."

"Goodbye." Wonwoo said, still surprised at the intimate interaction.

"Goodbye!" the knight waved and with a quick move he and Yanan slipped out of the bedroom closing the door behind them.

~*~

Mingyu was pacing back and forth in his room, thinking about everything that could go wrong in the next few hours.

A few days ago, Junhui, Wonwoo's friend, had delivered a letter to him from his boyfriend. A stupid smile always bloomed at his face every time he referred to the knight like that, but well, it was only natural, Mingyu reasoned.

In the letter, Wonwoo had said that Junhui had agreed to help them. Over the course of the next week, the two had planned their sneaking out strategy through letters, delivered by Junhui. And now that the suspension was over, it was finally time to meet again.

Mingyu was dying to see his knight again. He still couldn't entirely believe that they were together now. The week they were forced to stay away from each other had only made the longing worse. They hadn't really spent that much time apart, even when they were just friends. Mingyu missed Wonwoo terribly.

The plan wasn't simple and Mingyu dreaded the mere thought of it. They would sneak out by climbing the wall behind the storage house at the back of the palace. It was the only semi-blind spot in the castle’s periphery. Wonwoo and Junhui would leave the army's building a little before midnight. It was the hour that the castle started falling asleep, perfect time for them to set their plan into motion. The two knights would exit their building, pass behind the stables and meet with Mingyu behind the royal garden. From there, they would wait for the two guards at the towers to change shifts. When that time came, they would only have five minutes to pass the royal gardens and go to the back of the storage house. They would climb the wall and they would be out. Easy.

Not.

Mingyu had no idea how to climb a wall. He stressed this enough in his letters, but Wonwoo assured him that Junhui and he would help.

After they climbed to the top, they would have to get down too. Wonwoo said that they would bring ropes in order to get down and get back in, about 3 hours later when the guards changed shifts again. Mingyu would have panicked had it been anyone else than Wonwoo telling him all this, but his desire to see him again overpowered his building up anxiety.

The clock in his room showed ten minutes before midnight. That was it, there was no room for doubt now. They had to do it. Mingyu grabbed his coat and quickly exited his room. The palace was dead silent. He walked quietly, passing the other servants’ rooms. He was lucky that his room was at the ground floor. With quick steps he got out of the big entrance, opening and closing it without noise.

He looked left and right, checking for guards, even though it was pointless. Even if they were there, Mingyu wouldn't be able to see them. He had to trust Wonwoo with this. His knight had checked all the guard's schedules. Mingyu gulped, and without looking back, he began walking through the darkness towards the backside of the garden.

He reached there after a couple of minutes, his heart thumping inside his chest. The only thing he had to do now was to wait for his boyfriend and Junhui.

Thankfully, for the sake of his pour heart, he didn't have to wait long. Wonwoo and he had planned this very accurately. The two knights, as expected, weren't late. One moment Mingyu was alone and scared out of his mind and the next a brown-haired man emerged from the corner of the garden and Mingyu felt his whole body light up.

Wonwoo was dressed in a simple dark shirt and pants, with a black cape and a hood. His face was impassive like most of the time, but Mingyu could see his nervousness from how tightly he pressed his lips together.

Lips that he was now allowed to kiss, Mingyu thought happily. Wonwoo looked up as well, giving him a faint smile. Mingyu, holding back a delighted laugh, rushed to his knight and squeezed him in a hug.

He felt Wonwoo freeze up a little in surprise, but quickly got over himself and put his arms around Mingyu's waist.

"I missed you so much." was the first word out of Mingyu's mouth. "I thought this was going to be weird, we haven't seen each other after becoming b-boyfriends," he stuttered at the word but kept blabbering. "and I don't really know how to act. Is this too much? Are you uncomfortable? Because I really don't want to ever let you go-"

Wonwoo leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I missed you too." he said calmly, smiling fondly.

That shut Mingyu up.

"I don't want to ruin the reunion, but we have to go like, right now." Junhui cleared his throat.

Mingyu's head whipped to the side to look at the other knight, having completely forgotten about him.

"Hello hyung." he said embarrassed and stepped away from Wonwoo, without letting go of his hand. Some of his nerves had returned, but this time he was more determined. "Let's go!" he whisper-shouted.

The trio ran towards the back of the storage house as quickly and as quietly as possible. When they reached there, Wonwoo untied the rope he was holding, made a noose and threw it up the wall. Junhui was looking out in case the guards returned sooner than expected.

The top of the castle was clear. The three quietly got on the roof of the warehouse, mindful of the creaking wood beneath their feet. They had to be absolutely quiet, lest the guard at the front of the small building noticed them.

Wonwoo went first, and the footman couldn't help but admire him. Apart from the sword fighting lessons, he hadn't seen the knight in action before.

Mingyu himself had no problem climbing the warehouse, but he took Wonwoo's outstretched hand anyway. Junhui brought up the rear and grabbed the rope form Wonwoo's hands.

"I'll go first." he whispered.

Junhui tightly grabbed the rope in his palms and put one of his feet on the wall. Mingyu was impressed, the Chinese knight climbed up the wall like some type of oversized cat. When he reached the top, he lowered his body so he wouldn't be seen and waited for the other two to follow him.

"Come on." Wonwoo urged him, and Mingyu gulped.

The footman looked at the remaining knight uncertainly. "I'm going to fall." he deadpanned.

Wonwoo widened his eyes. "Don't tell me you're afraid of heights!" he whispered-shouted.

"I've never tested my fears like this!" Mingyu whined. "I wasn't afraid when I was looking down the ground from the top of the castle but this is slightly different. Also, I've never had to climb like this before and I _told_ you in the letters-" Mingyu was babbling again.

Wonwoo sighed and put a hand on the footman’s lower back.

"Do you want to go back?" he asked, trying to mask a bit of disappointment.

"No! Of course not! But-"

"What's taking you so long? Move it or we will get caught!" Junhui's voice cut the footman's speech.

They both looked up and then at each other.

"I will be right behind you." Wonwoo said softly.

Mingyu's anxiety was contagious apparently, as worry started swimming in Wonwoo’s eyes as soon as the footman grabbed the rope with shaking hands. Mingyu tried to steady himself on the wall's rocky surface with the knight's help. With small steps and a lot of force, he started climbing up. He was slow, hesitating before he took each step. At some point, the rope tangled in his foot and he froze in fear.

"Wonwoo!" he whispered urgently.

The knight, like promised, was behind him in an instant, silently untangling the rope.

"I can't do this I can't do this I can't do this." Mingyu chanted.

"Of course you can Mingyu. Please, I don't want to pressure you, but you must hurry up." the knight patted his foot and urged him upwards.

"Come on Mingyu you can do it!" Junhui, who had reached out his hand towards the footman, encouraged softly.

Mingyu whined and tried to fight the urge to look at the ground. He hesitantly let go of the rope and grabbed Junhui with one of his hands. The rope swayed by the force, and Wonwoo tried to steady Mingyu's flailing body.

"I got you!" Junhui said and dragged the footman up the wall. "Wonwoo hurry!" he added hastily.

After dropping Mingyu, Junhui pulled Wonwoo up faster than the knight could climb. Together they untangled the rope up, tossing it to the other side of the wall.

"Mingyu you go first." Junhui pushed the footman.

"But-"

"No buts! Unless you want us three hanged up tomorrow morning at the courtyard for everyone to see!" the knight hissed.

"Hurry up, I see torches up there!" Wonwoo said and Mingyu grabbed the rope for dear life and slid down.

There was a pained cry as he hit the ground, clutching his burnt palms. It had _not_ been a good idea to let the hard rope slide between his skin like this. His hands got the worst of it, the skin rapidly reddening as blood rushed to some small cuts. Wonwoo was behind him in seconds, his own hands beneath the fabric of his shirt to avoid burns.

"My god Mingyu, are you okay?" he crouched down next to him.

"Yeah I think so." the footman whined as he saw his own two burned palms.

"My God, that was close." Junhui sighed as he pulled the rope from the wall.

"Your hands look terrible." Wonwoo took Mingyu's hands in his.

Mingyu gave him a pained smile. "Kiss them better?" he asked cheekily.

Wonwoo grinned, leaning down to kiss his palms lightly.

Junhui snorted playfully behind them. "Let's go love birds. We are not out of the woods yet." he said and started walking away.

Their actions catching up with them Mingyu and Wonwoo both flushed red and silently followed the other.

"So which way do we go?" Junhui asked as they passed through the dark alley behind the castle, reaching the main road.

“Over there,” Wonwoo pointed him towards the old hospital, its upper walls visible from the street.

Silence enveloped them as they walked down the deserted road. No respectable society member would roam around so late at night, and those who did, would never do it outside the palace grounds. This late at night, the pubs at the port would be full of men getting drunk with cheap wine, trying to seduce waitresses or betting their riches at games.

_If Minghao was here, he would have wanted to go down there,_ Mingyu thought, but was distracted as Wonwoo tugged at his sleeve to make a turn, and the three marched in the shadows.

After fifteen minutes, the company found themselves in the old hospital's dark street. Mingyu and Wonwoo shuffled inside the wall's hole. Junhui stayed behind an eyebrow arched.

"You want me to get inside from that?" he asked pointing the small opening.

"You can just stay here if you want." Wonwoo shrugged.

"I believe it would be safer if you came in though, hyung." the footman added. "What if someone comes here by accident and sees you? We want you to be safe as well."

Junhui smiled at the younger. He sighed, shaking his head and proceeding to squeeze himself inside the opening.

When he managed to pass through, he groaned, dusting himself off before he eyed the couple. "Alright, off you go. Be here in two and a half hours." Junhui shooed the other two away.

"Thank you Junhui." Wonwoo said softly.

"We owe you a lot." Mingyu added, linking his fingers with his boyfriend.

Which was a mistake, as the burn was still there. Mingyu yelped loudly, Wonwoo looked worried and Junhui snorted.

"Yeah, good luck with that." he said and made himself comfortable on a bench nearby.

"Are you okay?" the knight asked concerned.

"Peachy." Mingyu pouted. "It hurts when you touch them."

Wonwoo grabbed his wrists and pulled him further inside. "Then we won’t." he smiled and linked their pinkies together. "Better?" he asked.

Mingyu bit his lower lip. Just when he thought Wonwoo couldn't get any cuter. He lost his words after that, just grinning at Wonwoo dumbly.

They walked at the back of the hospital, slowly wandering around, speaking about everything and nothing. The time was passing beautifully. Mingyu swore that he could be like that for the rest of his life. Wonwoo felt like home.

He was getting antsy though. As much as he enjoyed talking with the knight like they always did, their relationship had recently changed. Mingyu wanted more. He couldn't be subtle by holding Wonwoo's hand, because of those cursed burns, so he settled for an arm around his shoulder.

"So how was your day? Something exciting after a week out?" the footman asked.

"No, I stayed in my room most of the time. General Jihoon called on me once, he had me write a report for which I didn't get paid for." Wonwoo leaned his head back on Mingyu's arm.

"Still suspended? I thought it would only last a week?" Mingyu asked confused.

"It ends today. Tomorrow I am back on duty." Wonwoo said. "I'm not looking forward to training though. I got some nasty looks from some other knight today as I headed to the general's office." Wonwoo frowned.

Mingyu stopped on his track. "What do you mean? What kind of looks?" he questioned, his gaze shifting.

"I have no idea. I've never talked to the guy before. Maybe he was thinking about something and just happened to glare at me." Wonwoo said and pointed at a stone staircase. "Should we go up there?" he asked.

"Hmm... did he say anything?" the footman asked as he followed Wonwoo up the stairs.

"Not really, I only saw him from afar. It was probably nothing." Wonwoo smiled and looked at him.

At the top of the stairs, there was a second floor similar to the ground. There was a big open space with collapsed doors left and right and benches scattered around. The view was no different either, as they stayed hidden from sight.

"I hope he doesn't say anything. For his own good." Mingyu said clenching his fists, hissing at the pain in his palms.

Wonwoo laughed and bumped his hip on Mingyu's. "Are you going to get all protective of me now? Did you forget which one of us could actually beat up people if it came to it?"

"Don't underestimate me when I want to protect someone I care about. Besides all that 1.86m height isn't for nothing, you know." Mingyu smirked.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. There was silence for a while before he decided to break it.

"Let's not get all corny and relationship-y please?" he said and stopped in front of Mingyu. "You don't have to change the way you were treating me before just because we are together now, yeah?"

"I don't intend to. I’m just doing whatever you would do for me." Mingyu smiled softly, bopping their noses together.

Wonwoo cupped his cheeks, not letting him lean back.

"All I'm saying is, let's be careful not to be overwhelming. I... I've never done this before you know?" he said gently. "It's kinda scary..." he whispered.

"I know. But we will figure it out together, alright?" Mingyu whispered back and leaned in taking Wonwoo's lips in his.

Wonwoo let out a satisfied sound and wrapped his arms around Mingyu's neck. They kissed slowly, solidifying the fact that they were together now. That it was not just a dream, not just a fluke that happened a week ago. Mingyu wrapped his arms around Wonwoo's slim waist, bringing him even closer. He traced his tongue at his bottom lip, asking for entrance.

Wonwoo tilted his head and let his tongue interweave with Mingyu's. He let his hands brush Mingyu's hair back comfortingly, before sliding down his neck to settle at his nape.

Mingyu groaned lightly in the kiss. His mind was going around in circles and his body felt light as a feather. Wonwoo's lips was Mingyu's escape of this world. It was insane how much of an impact a small gesture like that had on him.

Wonwoo had been such a hurricane in his life. From finally meeting a knight and unknowingly crushing on him, to getting to know him and liking him because he was _Wonwoo_ and he was everything Mingyu didn't know he needed. Wonwoo kept moving his palms, brushing his cheek, tracing his ear, without breaking the kiss. Mingyu was getting dizzy.

He felt like he was in a boat that was rocking hard against the waves of the sea. Wonwoo was his sea and Mingyu was lost inside him. All those feelings were so overwhelming and new for the young footman. With a deep breath he slowly broke the kiss, leaning his forehead on top of the other's. He locked eyes with him. Those eyes would be the death of him one day, Mingyu just knew that.

"Should we sit down somewhere?" Wonwoo asked, breathless and flustered and Mingyu wanted to touch him, brush his hair and cup his cheeks, but his hands prevented him from doing so.

"Of course. Let's go sit under that tree hm?" Mingyu said, pointing at an almond tree.

The tree was at full bloom, small white-pink flowers decorating its branches as the moon shined upon them. It was beautiful.

Mingyu made a mental note to bring a lantern the next time. They were pretty lucky that the moon was close to being full tonight and they could see each other.

They sat down on a small marbled bench and this time, it was Wonwoo who initiated the kiss much to Mingyu's delight. The knight's palm rested gently on his cheek, but the angle was awkward and they broke apart soon.

"Would you... Umm..." Mingyu shyly stretched his legs and patted his lap.

Wonwoo looked at his legs, then at Mingyu then at his legs again with wide eyes. He seemed conflicted for a moment. But then he looked back at Mingyu's eyes and he bit his lips. He stood up and sat on Mingyu’s lap.

Mingyu chuckled fondly at the sigh. "No pressure yeah? You sure you want this?" he asked looking straight in the knight’s already half lidded eyes.

"More than you can imagine..." Wonwoo whispered, kissing him from the jaw to the cheek and finally on the lips.

Mingyu let out a pleased sound and softly placed his hands on the knight's thighs.

He roamed with his tongue the inside of Wonwoo's mouth, making him sigh in pleasure. He then travelled down, laying butterfly kisses in every inch of Wonwoo's skin his mouth could reach. His neck, his cheek, his Adam’s apple, which bobbed with ever pleased sound the knight was swallowing down, his earlobe.

Wonwoo grabbed his chin and brought his mouth back to his lips for a gentler, closed mouthed kiss. Mingyu sighed and circled his arms around Wonwoo's waist, letting his body lean on top of his own.

Three hours passed like this, like a dream. Between kisses and sweet words, between the warmth of their bodies pressed together and the cool air around them, there was no way Mingyu could have heard the voice of Junhui, calling them from afar.

"Wonwoo, Mingyu-ssi?" Junhui shouted lightly.

Wonwoo hastily got off Mingyu, dropping his hands away like he was burnt. Mingyu snickered but let him move away.

"We're upstairs Junhui." the knight answered.

A moment later, Junhui appeared at the top of the stairs. "Are you alright? We should get going, it's getting late." he smiled softly.

Mingyu didn't even acknowledge his presence, he was just looking at Wonwoo awestruck, with hearts in his eyes. Wonwoo too had trouble concentrating at his friend's words. He seemed breathless, but he tried to compose himself for his pride's shake.

"We... We will be down in a minute." he said simply.

Junhui sighed. "In a minute okay? I don't want to come back and scold you again." he warned and turned his back at them, climbing the stairs back down.

Mingyu giggled, making grabby hands to Wonwoo. "Come back here hyung~" he said happily.

Wonwoo sighed but smiled non the less. He approached Mingyu again, who enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.

"You are incredible you know that?" Mingyu whispered in his ear, kissing the shell afterwards.

Wonwoo hummed, despite not being able to breathe and buried his face at Mingyu's shoulder.

"You are too." he whispered.

They fell in a comfortable silence, just sitting there and basking in each other’s presence. Mingyu threaded his long fingers inside Wonwoo’s locks, making him sigh in content.

"I think we should go.” Mingyu murmured a minute later, casting a peck on Wonwoo’s temple. “Junhui hyung will kill us, and he will have the right to do so." he laughed under his breath.

Wonwoo hummed, but didn’t move away, nuzzling his face further on Mingyu’s neck instead.

"Come on love, let's go." Mingyu whispered again.

Mingyu felt the knight hesitantly loosening his grip, not completely letting him go. The pair walked the distance back, regretting every step they took towards their separation. At least Junhui was kind enough not to mention anything as they reached the hole hand in hand.

Their route back to the castle's walls was silent. The mood was somber.

"Hey, didn't you two have fun?" Junhui asked when they reached the alley again. They had a few moments before the guards would change again.

"More than you can imagine." the footman answered bitterly, using Wonwoo’s previous words.

Wonwoo blushed and elbowed him. "Don't say it like that." he said, which earned him a giggle.

"You were very cute hyung." the footman said.

Junhui arched an eyebrow at his fellow knight. But Wonwoo could only blush harder.

"What am I gonna do with you two." Junhui laughed under his breath. "I think it's time to return."

"My hands..." Mingyu whined. "I'm not gonna make it." he hid behind Wonwoo.

"You have to my friend. I'm sorry." Junhui said sympathetically. "Try putting your sleeves over them. Mabey it will ease the burn."

Mingyu sighed deeply. And this was only the first time they had to escape like this. He gritted his teeth. He would do anything to see Wonwoo outside of the castle.

"Come on. Show me that the 1.86 m height isn't for nothing." Wonwoo leaned in and whispered encouragingly.

This time it was Mingyu's time to blush and elbow the knight. "Shh!" he said.

Junhui looked at them pensively. "You guys... you must tone those conversations down in public if you want to keep your relationship a secret." he advised and threw the rope upwards, passing it through a crenel.

"We will keep it in mind." Wonwoo said. He took the rope in his hands and started climbing back in.

"Mingyu you're next." Junhui said, patting him on the back.

Mingyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I have to get used to this." he murmured, putting his hands in his sleeves and grabbing the rope.

It burned. His palms felt like they would peel off and his grip wasn't as tight as he would have liked.

"I'm definitely going to fall." he said once again.

"You won’t. Trust yourself and your strength Mingyu." Junhui said. "Do it for him.” he added more silently.

Mingyu nodded and lifted himself up. If it was hard before, it was ten times harder now. The climb was longer because they had no warehouse to step on.

But he tried his best. He set his mind and his eyes to his boyfriend, who was reaching out for him at the top of the rocky wall. He watched him mouthing encouraging words and smiling at him. Mingyu didn't even realize when he finally reached him. He wanted to hug and kiss him as a thank you, but they were back in the guards’ vision field, and they had to hurry up.

Junhui was up there in seconds as well, and Mingyu was seriously impressed with him. Even Wonwoo was slower than him. Crouched down, they made sure no guard was in sight, they pulled the rope and they dropped it inside the castle’s grounds. Junhui went first.

Thankfully, climbing down was easier and quicker. They were on the ground behind the storage in no time, running back towards the royal garden.

And that was where they had to separate. Mingyu was the first to realize this. He grabbed Wonwoo's hand briefly, not being able to do anything else since they were back. Wonwoo looked at him with a frown, clearly having the same thoughts.

"When I will see you again?" Mingyu asked, a sad frown appearing on his handsome face.

"Well, tomorrow." Wonwoo laughed lightly. "But like this... It might take a while." he sighed, pointing at their linked hands.

"I can't wait." Mingyu said, a small smile on his face. "I wish things could be different though."

"Maybe one day they will. No one knows what tomorrow brings." Wonwoo stated.

Junhui sighed from behind them. "Can I tell you something that might cheer you up?” he asked.

Mingyu and Wonwoo looked at him, nodding in sync.

“Just so you know; you guys are incredible. Most people that may have found themselves in a situation like yours would either deny everything they felt or go crazy. My point is..." Junhui said, placing his hands on their shoulders. "You two have a strong bond. Your feelings won’t die down and that's your advantage over the rest of the world. Don't be scared or ashamed. Be happy and try to make the best out of it. I know the situation is impossibly difficult, but you have one another. You can go through this together. So, smile."

"Wonwoo, your friend is really sappy." Mingyu laughed, but he still felt encouraged. He made a mental note to get to know Junhui properly, not just as _'Wonwoo's friend'_.

Wonwoo laughed as well, patting Junhui on the back. "I can't thank you enough for today." he said.

"Well what about that dinner you own me?" Junhui wiggled his eyebrows.

"Of course. Mingyu can cook you spicy paprika pork feet." Wonwoo suggested, pointing at the footman.

"You know I'm not a housewife, right?" Mingyu whined.

Both knights snickered as Mingyu gave Wonwoo a nasty look. It was okay if his boyfriend teased him, but for Junhui to know that he was great at doing housework, Wonwoo must have been talking about him. Despite acting annoyed, Mingyu liked that.

"Alright, we really need to head back." Junhui said. "We will see you tomorrow, oh great footman." he joked, bowing.

"Tomorrow it will be, oh majestic knight hyung." Mingyu teased back and turned to Wonwoo, his face much softer. "I'm looking forward to seeing you train." he beamed. "While I, you know... clean." he chuckled.

"Make sure to watch were you pour the dirty water. I don’t want anyone else to find out how cute you are when you are flustered and apologizing." Wonwoo said pointedly.

"Goodness gracious... Come on you lovestruck idiot, let's go." Junhui said, dragging Wonwoo away. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight!" Mingyu said sweetly.

He watched the other two disappear carefully, making sure nobody saw them. Then he looked around before going back to the castle himself.

His hands were killing him. He was playing brave in front of Wonwoo, not revealing his palms under his sleeves at all. But after the last climb they had begun bleeding and even though it was dangerous, Mingyu made his way to the infirmary.

He walked carefully through the courtyard, blending in with the shadows and slipped inside the castle. Luckily the infirmary was at the ground floor, beside the kitchen. He made a beeline there, quick and soundless. Unfortunately for his poor hands though, the infirmary was closed. Which _was_ logical, considering only owls were awake at this hour. Mingyu sighed and made a turn to head back to his room, praying for the burning to stop.

Something stopped him though. There was light coming from beneath the kitchen’s door. Frightened, Mingyu began walking away quickly, until he heard a familiar voice from the torch lit room.

"Just my silly imagination he said... You will get over it he said." the voice echoed, followed by a deep sigh and the clang of a cup. "Well it was almost two years you little... and I'm still not over it..."

Mingyu gapped at the sound of Soonyoung's voice. Only he didn't sound like he usually did. His syllables were stretched, his voice dropping out of pitch. Was the steward... drunk?

"But it's always only me... it will always be just me." the steward continued babbling softly.

Was he whining about something?

"You’re going around like nothing happened... I guess I didn't mean anything..." a sniffing sound.

_What is he talking about?_ Mingyu thought, suddenly all caution was thrown out of the window. He approached the kitchen door, placing an ear atop the wooden surface to listen better.

"Well you knew from the start that you meant everything to me... and you still do." Soonyoung sighed again. "I wish we could talk again... write again. I'll have you know that these letters are my whole life... because even if you act cold to me right now, there was a time that we were on the same page. Together. And these old papers can prove it."

_Did Soonyoung hyung have a girlfriend?_ Mingyu wondered. _Did she break his heart?_ Mingyu was both curious and concerned. He would have never realized that someone like the hyper steward was hurting inside.

"Like this one... the one and only I didn’t have the chance to sent you." Soonyoung’s voice sounded again, before he inhaled deeply obviously preparing himself to read. " _We laugh together secretly at nights, but I cry alone. We are hiding how we really are, while we have hard days. Today too I wanted to say those words out loud, but I can only keep them to myself, it’s tiring_." another sniffing sound.

Mingyu fought the urge to burst inside the room and comfort his crying hyung.

Soonyoung continued his reading. " _When you're tired you know you can share it with me. I'm like that too, you know. Always failing to hide what I'm trying to, but it was never easy to begin with. At least we can make each other laugh._  
Don't feel sorry about it. Don't worry. Don't be afraid. My love, stop worrying. To me you'll always be precious.   
I'm writing this to you, who always has rough days... to let you know that I'm here for you. And you did so well today. I love you and I want to hug you more than anything. 

_Yours, Soonyoung_." and suddenly a full blow cry echoed through the wooden door.

Mingyu felt like he was intruding. This was too much information on his hyung for one night. He had never heard Soonyoung being so emotionally vulnerable. He shouldn't eavesdrop anymore. As he walked away, he made a promise to himself to never reveal what he heard that night. He also decided to treat his hyung a little better, be more obedient and understanding, because apparently, he suffered too, like any other human.

Just who could break Soonyoung's heart like this? Why was it so hard to admit that she loved him? His hyung was the most kind, open-hearted person he had ever met. How could that woman not see this?

Mingyu clutched his injured hands and stifled a cry. If Soonyoung was enduring so much pain with a smile on his face, then Mingyu could spend one night with his palms hurting.

~*~

From that day on Mingyu put his mind and spirit into his work. He tried helping around the castle as much as he could. He stopped whining about every day’s exhaustion and he tried to live each day as fully as he could. In other words, his days were becoming more productive than ever.

And his nights... Well his nights were either relaxing and peaceful, or filled with energy and adrenaline. His escapes with Junhui and Wonwoo became a part of his routine. Those nights were the reason why Mingyu was able to be so patient during the day.

He had become an expert on wall climbing. He felt somewhat proud and somewhat terrified for himself. Proud because he no longer needed to be babied by the knights when their outings came to it, but also scared that he had to learn to do this to save his life from the people that were supposed to be protecting him. The old, innocent Mingyu would never be able to regularly climb the castle's walls.

Minghao had repeatedly asked him why he looked so tired at certain days. The footman waved him off, trying to mask his tiredness by making small talk. And that was something else Mingyu had become an expert at. He could successfully keep secrets now. He met Wonwoo many times during the day, and though it was heart breaking to treat him like a mere friend, he had managed to do it.

The fact that he could keep secrets worried him. All this time he wore his heart on his sleeve. Everyone knew what he was thinking and that was his way of getting close with people. Now that his old friends were missing such a big part of his life, he felt like he couldn't talk seriously with them anymore. That's why nowadays, he always settled with small talk, and even though Minghao seemed to have realized something was wrong, he had made no move to fix it.

And that was also how he found himself getting closer to Junhui. He needed someone other than Wonwoo to vent all his feelings and frustration, especially when they had to do with his boyfriend. Junhui was the best option.

They got along really well. The Chinese was a really pleasant company, but Mingyu missed his best friend a lot. He could only hope for a miracle, for Minghao to not judge him if he told him about his knight. But those things only happen in old stories.

It was a typical night and Mingyu was getting ready to escape again. The clock reached ten to twelve and the footman slipped smoothly out of the castle.

He met the other two behind the garden, smiled sweetly at Wonwoo and patted a yawning Junhui's head. Junhui looked tired today. They walked across the garden, waited for the guards to leave and climbed on the storage hut.

What they hadn’t realized though, was that the guards weren't their only problem. That night, the two knights who watched the ground from the towers weren't the only people at the top of the castle.

Mingyu should have known. Honestly, it was a wonder how this hadn't happened sooner. It was also proof that no matter how much he had grown, the old careless Mingyu was still as present as ever. Up there on the top castle, next to the guard's post, there was one more room. Prince Minghao's personal study.

~*~

Minghao huffed tiredly, rubbing his sore eyes. It was one of those nights that he was running a late study, when he decided that he needed a small break. With a cup of tea in his hands, he sat down at his table right underneath the room’s only window. Minghao loved that window. The view brought peace to his body and cleared his mind. He looked outside, taking a sip of his black tea, when suddenly his eyes caught something out there.

Shadows. People. There were _people_ climbing up the warehouse. Minghao shot up, opening the window and peering outside. He nervously glanced at the tower at the other side of the rooftop, but it was empty. The guards had left, and their replacements were yet to come. No one was up there but him. Had these people timed it? How could they have known the precise time the guards changed posts?

Minghao's adrenaline kicked in and he ran outside, leaning down the edge of the castle to take a better look.

The people moved quickly. They had a rope attached to the palace's crenel. One of them was climbing it up, the other was already at the top and the third was waiting for his turn. The figure that stepped in the rocky wall was awfully familiar to the prince. He couldn't see much from up there and the light was almost non existing, but a tall figure like that wasn't a regular sight.

"Is that...? Mingyu?" Minghao frowned. "Why is he...?" he was at a loss of words.

_‘That's why he looked so tired sometimes?’_ Minghao immediately thought. The prince couldn't report _Mingyu_ of all people to the guards, even though he felt hurt that his best friend had kept such a big secret from him.

But he had to find out _why,_ so he did the first thing that came to his mind. He decided to follow them. He had to find the truth after all. It was shocking enough that his best friend was doing something like this, but who even were the people with him? Minghao almost couldn’t believe what he saw.

He was at the courtyard in no time. He walked quickly across it, approaching the entrance.

He halted on his steps as he remembered the guards at the entrance of the castle. He pursed his lips and hid behind a bush, trying to think of a way to get outside unnoticed.

He squeezed his exhausted brain, trying to come up with something as he analyzed the surroundings. They were more bushes at the exact opposite side of which he was hiding. Minghao smirked as he came up with a simple but hopefully effective plan.

He took off his coat, subjecting himself the cold February weather, and draped it over the plant he was hiding behind. He grabbed a stone from the ground and threw it near the guards. When they both turned to look at it, he jumped over to bushes opposite of him, remaining unseen.

The two guards were alarmed now, their heads whipping up to check their surroundings. When they spotted the coat, they abandoned their places, as expected, and trailed slowly towards it. They had pulled out their swords, ready to face anything.

Without thinking much about it, Minghao ran to the exit. He heard voices behind him, but he just ran and ran until he was completely out of sight, hiding in a small alleyway.

The guards didn't follow him, thankfully. Trying to even out his breaths, he considered his options. What should he do next? He hoped that Mingyu and the other two hadn’t gotten very far.

He wrapped his arms around himself, in an effort to get warm again. Maybe he should have thought this out better. The cold weather wasn’t to be taken lightly. But it was too late for second thoughts now.

He moved towards the Road of the Knights and tried to take a look at the corner of the castle walls. If Mingyu and the other two went out from the back, this is where they should have come out from.

Suddenly Minghao heard voices approaching. An obnoxious laugh echoed through the alley, followed by a loud shush. _Yep, that's definitely Mingyu_ , the prince sighed. He was really lucky tonight.

Minghao slid back to the shadows, following the voices. What was Mingyu doing? Minghao had known the boy ever since they were both little, and he had never behaved like this before. The prince felt like he was losing his friend day by day. He felt hurt by it but he was never one to clearly express his emotions. That was Mingyu's job.

Alas, it seemed like his best friend had finally given up on him for good now, breaking rules and laughing with his new friends, whoever they were. Were they treating him, right? Mingyu was awfully susceptible to external influences. Where the exploiting him, where they going to get him in trouble? Minghao felt angry for his friend. Why hadn't Mingyu told him any of this?

Minghao tried to get closer, in case he could recognized the two other men that were with the footman. He took a couple of steps further, quickening his pace until they were in his ear shot.

"How was your training today? Did General Jihoon gave you hard time again?" what was clearly Mingyu’s voice reached his ears.

_Wait a minute...General Jihoon? It can't be...?_

"It was painful!" a dramatic voice, that Minghao didn't recognize, said.

The other person snickered and Mingyu laughed as well.

"Serves you right for trying to ditch last time with that tall friend of yours." a deep voice sounded. "It's barely been four months since you came here, and you already act like you own the place."

Minghao could practically feel the eye roll after those words.

"First of all his name is Yanan, try to learn it, I have already introduced him to you. And second, you are not in a place to talk. You were the one with the suspension not me, Wonwoo." the voice said.

_Jeon Wonwoo_. Minghao pursed his lips. He should have known. A few months ago Mingyu couldn't keep quiet about that knight. His eyes would sparkle and there would always be a stupid smile on his face every time he mentioned Wonwoo. Minghao had attributed that to his general obsession with knights, but apparently, there was more to it.

A few days after the new year's, there was suddenly no more mention of this new friend of his, like a curtain had been dropped. There were no long, starstruck stares from across the training grounds anymore, no lengthy talks about something the knight had done and Mingyu found amazing. And a few days later, the footman had begun distancing himself. What had the knight done to make Mingyu act like this?

And who the hell was the third guy? Another knight? Mingyu had never mentioned his encounter with a second knight. Minghao felt betrayed and bitter. Was his will to meet a knight so strong that he had already forgotten about his childhood friend? There should be an explanation behind this.

Minghao peeked his head around the corner of the alleyway he was taking cover in, while following the trio to take a look at them and he immediately frowned. They were walking down the street, relaxed, not paying any mind to the direction they were going. That probably meant they had taken that route a lot of times. Mingyu was literally glued to that Wonwoo guy, while the third person was one step away. The prince observed his childhood friend's hands, casually touching the knight next to him. He went from fondling his hair, to pressing the small of his back with his palm and finally linking their fingers together, and the knight was _letting him_ do it.

_What is Mingyu doing?_ the prince wondered for the nth time that night.

He felt his blood boiling in his veins. He needed answers. As the minutes passed by, things were getting more and more confusing. Minghao continued following them until they reached the old hospital. The prince had heard about that place before, but he had never gone there himself.

"Oops I forgot my book again." the unknown knight said innocently and Wonwoo sighed.

"By accident, I am sure." he said ironically.

"But of course!" that knight said, seemingly offended.

He had a way of speaking, that it couldn't be distinguish when he was serious and when he was sarcastic, Minghao realized. His accent was also strange, foreign.

"What am I supposed to do for three hours while you two love birds get it on, hmm?" he commented and both Mingyu and Wonwoo slapped his arm.

Minghao froze. _What did he just say?_

"You should have kept your mind in your head then." Wonwoo teased and went inside a hole on the hospital's outer wall.

"I know you want to, but don't try to peek this time." Mingyu winked, passing the two lanterns to Wonwoo before slipping in as well.

Minghao pressed his back on the wall of the alley. This _wasn't_ happening. This was just a dream. There was no way Mingyu, that bright, innocent boy was breaking out of the castle in the middle of the night. There was no way he kept such a huge secret from Minghao, no way they were drifting apart. There was no way he had new friends Minghao didn't know about and absolutely no damn way that he had a...

What could Minghao even call it? Boyfriend? No. Mingyu was a man, a man that had countless town girls ready to fall on their knees for him if he even looked at their way. He must have misunderstood something.

"I don't promise anything..." the unknown knight snickered, passing through the opening. "Just remember to breath between the kisses, yeah? Suffocating yourselves isn't a good idea.” he laughed.

"Hyung shut up." Mingyu said and Minghao felt like ripping his hair off.

This was illegal. Mingyu could get into so much trouble if people found out. Between the hurt, anger and shock, Minghao was also worried about his best friend.

_I have to talk to him. I have to get him out of this mess_.

With the three of them gone, silence enveloped the place.

_It is now or never,_ Minghao thought and ran quickly to the wall, slipping inside, trying not to make too much noise.

The moment he stepped in though, he felt a force colliding with him and next thing he knew, he was being pushed to the ground. Minghao coughed, unprepared for the assault, and struggled to breathe through the dirt.

"Who are you and what are you here!?"

It was the voice of the unknown knight that was pinning him to the ground. Minghao couldn't see him properly in the dark. The man was strong. He had come out of nowhere, like an animal. Minghao could only stare at him.

"I said why are you here?!" the man growled.

"Get off me!" Minghao managed to spit out. "This is none of your business!"

"I think you have misunderstood something. _You_ are the one who has no right to be here." the knight said. "How did you find this place?"

"It a public building idiot! Now get off, I'm ordering you!" Minghao tried to move but it was to no avail. He had never been trained to defeat a knight.

"You order me? Who do you think you are huh?" the other spat out, face coming closer to Minghao.

"You don't recognize me? Huff, you're wasting my time. JUST GET OFF!" Minghao yelled and when the knight leaned to the side to look at his face, Minghao kept screaming, all his frustration finally manifesting. "I AM HERE TO COLLECT MY FRIEND! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM YOU BARBARIANS?"

"Wait a minute, you...." the knight spoke, standing up. "You are the prince, aren't you?" he said, face hard, no emotion shown.

"MINGYU! MINGYU WHERE ARE YOU?" Minghao hastily got up and yelled, ignoring the knight.

"Will you stop yelling!?" the knight said angrily. "Everyone’s going to hear you!" he hissed.

"Tell me what is going on here!" Minghao tried to look behind the knight for any sign of his friend.

"Do you really believe I will tell you? Do you think I'm an idiot or something?" the man answered, not even blinking at the prince's glare.

Minghao let out a shaky breath, trying to compose himself. "So what are you gonna do? Kill me? I am going in." Minghao said determined and tried to run past the knight.

He yelped, halting on his steps when a pointy blade was placed near his throat. The knight had drawn out his sword.

"If I have to." he said, eyes shooting daggers at the prince. "Leave. You don't understand what's going on. I won't let you ruin everything. Go away."

Minghao felt his mouth drop. No one had ever dared treat him like that before. He didn't want to sound like a spoiled little kid, but he was the _prince_! He felt his heart beating faster, fear and anxiety suddenly making their way to the surface.

"Drop this... You can't kill your prince, you will get in trouble. You will be tortured and executed." Minghao said in a low voice.

"Better me than them." the knight stated, his sword not budging from its place on Minghao’s neck. His gaze was strong. He was determined to protect them.

"What... What are they even doing that people would kill them for?" Minghao said trying not to let his voice waver.

The knight remained silent.

Minghao shook his head and yelled again. He was losing his time.

"KIM MINGYU! IF YOU DON'T COME HERE RIGHT NOW YOUR FRIEND WILL KILL ME!"

"Prince Minghao!" the knight said firmly, cutting the prince’s yelling again. “Look at me prince Minghao.”

Minghao did. Fiery eyes met solid ones. Infinite force versus immovable object.

"Do you know what feelings are? Have you ever considered them, explained them properly?" the knight asked out of the blue, making Minghao tilt his head beyond confused.

"Freedom, have you thought about that as well? Love?" a pause. "If you have, watch your next moves carefully. Because if you do something careless, you're going to regret it. Mark my words." he finished, eyes not looking away even a second.

Before Minghao could reply, there were frantic steps coming from the staircase in the back of the room.

"Hyung? We heard something, what hap- " a flustered Mingyu came into view but froze on the sight before him. "Minghao?! What are you doing here?!" cold sweat drenched the footman.

"Junhui what's going on?" Wonwoo said from beside the footman.

"Mingyu." was all Minghao said.

The knight looked back at the two, sighed and lowered his sword.

"We are in trouble, aren't we?" Wonwoo whispered, suddenly looking more scared than ever.

"Not necessarily." Junhui answered and gripped his sword tightly. "Prince, why are you here?" he asked.

Minghao walked past him, refusing to talk to that annoying knight anymore. He ignored Wonwoo as well, he looked scared enough for now. He would deal with him later. He stopped directly in front of Mingyu.

Up close the footman looked messy. His hair had become tangled and his breaths were shallow. Looking at him like this, Minghao felt terrified for his friend. What had he gotten himself into?

"Mingyu. Tell me what is going on." he said with a low, hard voice.

"I... can't." the footman choked, looking at his feet.

"TELL ME!" Minghao yelled and Mingyu flinched but remained silent.

"If you're not going to talk..." he said and turned his body to Wonwoo who shrunk back. Minghao took a step forward.

"Wait!" Mingyu said, putting his arm in front of the knight protectively. "Don't hurt him! Do whatever you want to me. Yell at me, slap me, arrest me.... But leave him alone." the footman said and stood in front of Minghao, shielding Wonwoo with his back.

Minghao bit his lip. "Mingyu... Just... Why? Why, why, why?" he said, despair lacing his voice "Tell me I have this wrong. That this is not what I imagine it is."

"I don't think there is a reason for me to lie to you..." the footman frowned. "Minghao we've been through thick and thin. You're my best friend." he sighed. "So please...."

"Don't beat around the bush. Are you two together?" the prince asked icily.

Mingyu didn't answer. He just took Wonwoo's hand in his and looked straight into his friend's eyes. Minghao glanced at their linked hands for the second time that night and abruptly turned his back.

"I need air." he said as he stepped away from everyone, trying to get out of the building.

Junhui grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Don't you dare touch me!" Minghao abruptly ripped his hand away from the knight's. "I'll be right outside."

This was unbelievable. Minghao's head couldn't process all those things that happened in just one hour. Mingyu liked another man. No. Mingyu WAS with another man. And Minghao hadn’t known anything about it. His friend hid it from him, but he let a stager in.

He could hear hushed conversations from the inside. He realized how scared they probably were right now. If Minghao told anyone about what he had found out... The consequences would be fatal, for all three of them.

But no matter how betrayed Minghao felt, in his mind he saw Mingyu when he was younger, running around the gardens and chasing birds with him. He had such a bright smile on his face, his teeth shining under the sun. He could imagine him walking beside him on the market, eyes so innocent and full of wonder. He was excited to follow his prince everywhere, eager to drop everything for his friends.

_This is still the same Mingyu._ Minghao thought and a frustrated tear escaped his eye. _His smile is still as bright as ever, it is just directed towards someone else. His eyes are still filled with the same wonder, but it’s that knight that he looks at now, not shiny things. He had always been excited to meet him, just like every time we played games as kids. And if he broke all those rules, if he pushed even his best friend aside, then Mingyu must really be prepared to follow Wonwoo everywhere._

So it was still his best friend in there. He couldn't turn his back on him like this. Minghao took a deep breath and decided to go back inside, hear Mingyu out before he made any rush decisions. He entered through the hole just in time to see Mingyu, sitting on a bench next to a very panicking Wonwoo.

"Wonwoo calm down everything is going to fine, okay?" the footman was whispering to the knight’s head. The knight was shaking a little, trying to even out his breath. Mingyu wasn't in a much better position.

Junhui was the first to see the prince coming back inside. He immediately stood in front of the couple, preventing Minghao to see them properly. The prince gave him an annoyed stare.

"Step aside, this my best friend over there." he said loudly.

Mingyu perked up at that.

"M-Minghao?" he mumbled, clutching Wonwoo closer to him.

Surprisingly, the still-unknown knight obeyed and took a step sideways. His hands were constantly on his sword though, clearly not trusting Minghao so much.

Minghao properly took in the scene before him and he felt like everything was wrong. A few months ago, he was talking with Mingyu about courting ladies. And now...

Minghao wasn't disgusted, like he had heard many men were when they were talking about this thing. It just felt wrong because this was Mingyu, and Mingyu wasn't supposed to be sneaking out of the castle to be with a man behind his back. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Mingyu, of course I'm not reporting you..." he finally answered the silent question that had been hanging over them all. "I can't kill you Mingyu, no matter what a terrible mistake you have made. I don't accept this and I hate that you kept it all a secret from me but... can we just go home?" he rubbed his forehead tiredly at the end.

He heard the other knight behind him let out a deep breath as well.

Mingyu smiled, a small but reassuring smile. He knew that this wasn't the end of it. He had to explain to Minghao everything, but at least they were in danger anymore. Wonwoo let out a small sound between a relieved breath and a sob.

"Let's go. With the new patrol schedules, it should be about time, anyway." the footman whispered, running his hand down the knight’s spine.

Minghao couldn't look at Wonwoo. What was so special about him? He looked frail and he wouldn't even glance at Minghao's way. He had never been special whenever they met during the day either. What in the world did Mingyu see in him that made his friend overlook the fact that he was a man?

Mingyu looked like he wanted to talk to him, as he was obviously trying to catch his eyes, but Minghao couldn't deal with it right now. He needed time to think, time to let his mind open a little in order to be able to listen to his childhood friend.

The only person here who he had no problem facing at the moment was the other knight, so he turned to him.

"And don't you dare act like this towards your prince again! What's your name?" he said narrowing his eyes.

"Wen Junhui." the other answered simply. "Now, you care I exist? I thought you would keep ignoring me." he said sarcastically not sparing a glance at the prince.

"I need to know who the _least_ trustworthy knight in my castle is. I can't believe you would kill me like that." Minghao huffed.

"You would do the same if you were in my place and you know that." he rolled his eyes. “It’s called protection.”

"It's called treason and you did it _terribly_. Not only I followed you easily, but had I been a killer I would have killed those two in an instant. Some guard you are." Minghao said judgmentally and without waiting for a reply he climbed through the wall again.

"You little piece of..."

Minghao shuffled out of the hole, standing a few meters away to collect his thoughts. He took deep breaths and looked at the sky. He didn't speak to Mingyu, he didn't even look at him, when he climbed outside, even though he was tempted. Wonwoo came next, and Mingyu immediately attached himself to his side like a lost puppy. The temptation disappeared like that.

Finally that annoying failure of a knight, Junhui, was out too and the four of them began walking towards their usual alley silently. The prince was at the front, the couple in the middle talking softly and lastly followed Junhui.

Minghao hesitated when they reached the side wall of the palace, the place he first saw the three sneaking out. He didn't know where to go from there, but he didn't want to talk to the others to ask for guidance. He heard Junhui snort, clearly noticing his dilemma and he glared at him.

The knight rolled his eyes at him. They continued walking through the dark path, after Junhui kindly pointed to the right direction. Once they were in the right place, the annoying knight detached the rope from his belt and threw it over the wall. Mingyu and Wonwoo went first, leaving the other two alone.

"Come on your highness... It's your turn." he smirked.

Minghao looked at the rope a little worried, but he didn't let it show on his face. He pulled his hands beneath his sleeves and gripped the rope determined. He was extremely shaky as he tried to pull his weight up. Minghao felt his muscles seizing under his skin, not able to fully support his body as he hanged in the air. He huffed. Mingyu had made it look so easy, the prince was at a disadvantage here.

"That's what you get got being so thin..." Junhui whispered in Mandarin from beneath.

The prince tsked beyond annoyed. "I prefer brain than brawn." he unconsciously replied back in the same language, through greeted teeth. Junhui rolled his eyes.

Then the situation caught up with them. Minghao whipped his head back so fast he almost pulled a muscle, letting go of the rope and falling on his butt.

"Wait what?" they said simultaneously.

"Did you just..." Junhui said his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

Minghao felt like banging his head on the wall. That night has been so emotionally exhausting, he just wanted it to be over. His mother's image came in his mind immediately when he heard her native language.

_Haohao, you should not judge people based on how you feel at the moment okay? Everyone is special,_ her soothing voice echoed in his brain in Mandarin.

There were tears in his eyes before he could stop them. He wiped them furiously before the knight could notice.

"Why do you speak my native language?" the knight asked confused, switching back to Korean.

"I am a man of many skills." Minghao said, but his voice sounded much weaker than intended. "You are one of the foreign knights that were transferred here a couple of months ago, aren't you?" he asked but before he could get an answer there was a voice from the top of the wall.

"Guys, the guards are coming back! Why are you still down there?" Mingyu whisper-shouted, concerned.

"As it seems, your friend can't keep up..." Junhui told him.

Minghao ignored him and jumped to his feet, putting his feelings aside. "Get the rope and go down, we are coming from the front entrance." he said, not really looking at Mingyu.

"We what? Have you gone crazy?" Junhui asked, shocked.

"Shut up and listen to me. I know what's legal here better than you." Minghao said through gritted teeth.

Junhui frowned. He leaned slowly in the prince personal space and looked him in the eyes. "Whatever." he said and huffed in Minghao's face. He then turned his back at him and walked towards the front.

Watching Junhui walk away, Mingyu quickly scooped the rope up. Minghao followed the knight, not glancing back to see if the other two made it in time.

"I wanted to go out because I forgot something in the town, and you were my escort." was all he said as he caught up with the Chinese. "Leave the talking to me."

Junhui didn't answer for the first time since Minghao saw him. He just stepped behind him and walked slowly, like a real escort.

Minghao straightened his shoulders and made shorter steps, looking like the prince he really was. Together with the knight they reached the entrance. The two guards were immediately in front of them.

"Prince Minghao?" one of them said as soon as he recognized him, bowing deeply.

"Good evening." the prince smiled sweetly at the two guards.

"Evening my ass." Junhui murmured in Chinese, only for Minghao to hear.

"Rise. Will you please let us in?" Minghao ignored him and kept talking to the guards.

"Of course your highness, but may I ask... When did you exit? We didn't see you." one of them said confused.

“Oh? Didn’t the previous shift inform you of my outing?” Minghao questioned with fake innocence.

"They.... it must have slipped their mind. We're terribly sorry, your majesty." the other said and they bowed again.

The prince sighed, making the guards feel even guiltier. "I will overlook this for once, because it is late. Just please don't mention this meeting to anyone else, or I am reporting you." he stated with a tight smile.

"Yes, your majesty!" they both said at the same time.

"If only you knew..." the Chinese mumbled again in his mother language.

"If only you stopped talking." Minghao hissed back.

Junhui took his position behind the prince, pretending he was just ordered to do so, and they both went inside the castle without any more problems.

As soon as they were out of the guards’ earshot Junhui turned to look at him. "Great, now that we are safe... I wish you a marvelous _evening_ , your highness." he said sarcastically and walked away.

Minghao wanted to kick him, but he restrained himself. They hadn't met under normal circumstances, so even though it peeved Minghao that a mere knight treated him this way, he overlooked it. Maybe in the morning Junhui would apologize and treat him like the actual prince he was.

As he made his way inside the palace, he shook his head dismissively. He didn't care about Junhui. Maybe the fact that he spoke his mother's language shook him, but now that the initial shock was over, he realized he had more important things to deal with. One of them was Mingyu, waiting for him on the bottom of the grand staircase.

"Minghao...you're back?" the footman said, lowering his head. "Please, let's just talk it through? We can't end things like that." he sighed, standing up.

"I don't want to talk to you right now. You basically avoided me for a whole month, I have the right to do so for a night." Minghao commented and tried to sidestep his friend.

"I know, and that wasn't what I wanted to do, believe me! But Minghao... please try to understand why we did this. I won't bother you furthermore. Take your time. But consider this... what would you do if you were in my shoes?" Mingyu implored. He looked inside Minghao's eyes. The prince didn't soften his gaze, he didn’t budge. After a minute Mingyu finally gave up.

"Good night your highness. Sleep tight." he murmured and headed towards his room.

Minghao simply climbed the rest of the stairs, purposely keeping his mind blank until he found himself on his bed, ready to get his much-awaited sleep.

Did he just lose his best friend? Was that what this night was about? Did he lose him to some random knight? Mingyu was always by his side, for everything he ever needed. Minghao liked to think he was there for him as well, though admittedly, it was usually Mingyu that followed him. Was that part of why he suddenly felt so mad at him? It felt like Mingyu had suddenly grown and left him behind.

And all of this was because he was suddenly attracted to another man. Minghao winced at the thought and buried his face on his pillow. That was the part that confused him the most. Why? Did he love him? How was that even possible? They had been taught it was wrong, a punishable crime, ever since they were children.

Mingyu had looked so confused when their teachers told them so. _"What if a boy is really cute and funny and smart? Isn't this what we look in girls too? What difference does it make if it is a boy?"_ Mingyu had asked back then, placing his chubby face on his small hands.

Minghao groaned at the memory. Had Mingyu always been like this? He had never courted a lady before, he barely seemed interested. Maybe there was more depth to his fascination with knights than Minghao had realized.

Said fascination with knights had faded pretty quickly after he met Wonwoo. Mingyu no longer gushed about soldiers in shining armors riding their white horses to save the kingdom. He talked about Wonwoo instead, his completely boring love of books, how strong he looked in his big armor. That was why Chan and he always teased him about going on dates with the knight. It was all just a game to them. He couldn't believe that Mingyu was actually serious, was apparently _actually going_ to dates with him.

So there were two major feelings weighing down his heart. First, it was Mingyu's unexpected (or perhaps not so unexpected) attraction for another man, which even if Minghao somehow learned to tolerate, their kingdom wouldn't, and Mingyu would face certain death. And secondly, the prince felt terrible about the fact that Mingyu was leaving him behind. It was like for once in their life, the footman walked ahead of him on a brightly lit road and Minghao could barely see him ahead. All this time it was Mingyu that did the following. Maybe Minghao should accept that it was time for him to follow his friend as well, if he wanted to keep him.

_Freedom.... have you ever thought about that? Love.... real feelings._

Suddenly Junhui's words came crushing down on him.

_You would have done the same..._

Would Minghao have sacrificed his life for Mingyu and his idiotic attraction to Wonwoo?

_Better me than them._

Minghao groaned. No he wouldn't. He would pull strings for them though, he would instill orders to leave them alone. Wouldn't that be the same thing? Probably not to the Chinese knight's eyes. Junhui fought for them, he raised his sword against a royal, he was ready to die just to protect them.

_You don't understand,_ the Chinese's voice spoke again.

Did the knight understand what the clueless prince couldn't?

_Minghao sweetheart. Every person is different but they are all special in their own way_. his mother's sweet voice followed.

Then it was Mingyu himself that talked to him in his brain. _What would you do if you were in my shoes?_

"I would have never been in your shoes you idiot!" Minghao said out loud.

And then...

_We can't end things like that._

No, they really couldn't. This was not a random man, this was not simply an acquaintance, not even a simple friend. This was Kim Mingyu, and Minghao owed it to himself and everything he ever held dear to listen to him for one last time.

He let out a shaky breath, as he tried to re-organize his beliefs, the values that he had ever since he was a child.

_Maybe it's not wrong to be with a man. Maybe I'm not meant to always lead, but to follow as well. Maybe there are feelings worth risking your life for._

With those thoughts circling around in his head, trying to get absorbed by his subconscious, he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is~~~ 
> 
> One more chapter added to our work. It was a little thrilling this time, wasn't it? 
> 
> As always let us know what you think in the comments. 
> 
> Just before I go, a small detail. Yanah and Junhui are FRIENDS. Nothing romantic between them, just old time classic flirty Junhui. 
> 
> That's it for today, I hoped you liked this chapter and I'll see you next week!
> 
> So, until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	9. Better when you don't care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola peopleee!!!
> 
> I hope you are doing realy well!!
> 
> WELL!  
> Third monster is out today, as you can probably see!  
> There are no clarifications needed in this chapter either.
> 
> So, without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

"This is a disaster." Chan muttered under his breath as he scratched a stain out of Minghao's clothes.

A whole week had passed and Mingyu hadn't even breathed in the same room as the prince. He woke up in the mornings, did his work and then retreated to his room for the rest of the day. Chan had only ever seen him going out of his room two times and head towards the army building, but he suspected there were more. The footman tried to be sneaky, and Chan only noticed him because he was concerned about him.

Minghao was not in a better condition. He didn't talk that much, and he was always at his study room, looking out of the window. One night, Chan had forced him to go to his room and sleep. He had tucked him in bed and finally found the courage to ask what was happening. Minghao had thrown an arm over his eyes, his breath becoming ragged. _"Just please stay out of this Channie. I can't lose you too."_ he had said, pulling Chan to lie next to him in bed.

Even though it was not exactly allowed and he would have been in trouble if Soonyoung ever found out, that night he had slept on the same bed with Minghao, feeling more like he was comforting his friend and less like he was serving his prince.

And the last straw had been yesterday. The prince hadn't eaten all day. Thank lord Seokjin hyung did him a favor and prepared a small, extra meal on a tray, exclusively for the troubled prince. Chan had been literally forced to chase down Minghao all the way to his study room. In the end, he had eaten the food and passed out from exhaustion on the room’s small couch.

Chan had to discover what had happened between his two friends. It was sad and distressing to see them fighting so seriously. Actually no, what they did could not even be considered fighting, because these two weren't even talking. The problem was that they both spent their entire days aimlessly roaming around the castle and that was just depressing.

As much as he hated to admit it, prince Minghao wouldn’t talk to him. It wasn’t in his character to open up easily, not even to Chan. So he had to find a way to get the information out of Mingyu. As far as Chan knew, his hyung couldn't keep a secret to save his life. So after he had hung all the clothes up to dry, he headed towards the ground floor and waited patiently outside of Mingyu's room for his return.

He didn't have to wait long. After fifteen minutes a groaning footman appeared at the corner of the hallway. Mingyu was exhausted to say the least. He had dark circles under his eyes and his head looked like a bird’s nest. He looked thinner too, but that probably was Chan's imagination. Mingyu always looked smaller when he was distressed.

"Hyung!" he greeted the footman waving his hand.

"Channie? What are you doing here?" Mingyu offered a small, tired smile.

Alright, time for pleasantries over. Chan crossed his hands on his chest and blocked Mingyu’s way.

"Hyung. This has to stop. I'm here to talk to you." he said

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Mingyu replied, mimicking Chan's position.

"What happened?" Chan cut straight to the chase. "Prince Minghao won't talk to me about this, so you have to."

"And why do I have to?" Mingyu frowned. He passed by Chan, as if he wasn’t even there, and entered his room. At least he left the door open for him to follow inside, a silent invitation.

"Because this has went on long enough. He wasn't eating much anyways, now he just straight out starves. And I haven't seen you smile in a whole week. That's a new record." Chan closed the door behind him. "I'm worried."

"Channie listen to me... Minghao and I have always been together, I'm sure you know that. There are times that even the closest of friends disagree and fight. It's nothing out of the ordinary." the footman said.

"But you don't talk to each other anymore! How are you going to solve things like that? You know Minghao, he won't take the first step, so you should talk to him." Chan argued.

Mingyu glared at him. "You know Channie? Not this time." he sat on his bed. "It's time for Minghao to grow up and confront his feelings. I'm tired of chasing him around and apologizing for every little thing that happens between us. This time he will either come to me when he is ready or we will stop talking for good."

As if it was only then he realized what he said, his gaze softened. "I know Minghao is the prince. But being a prince doesn’t mean you stop being a friend. You can't only expect things from your friends. You also have to give."

Chan stared dumbfounded at the footman. Things were more serious than he had thought. Not in a million years he would have expected Mingyu to actually get mad about a situation. But no, perhaps it wasn’t anger he was feeling. This could be just pure stubbornness to not take a step back in whatever it was they were arguing about.

For Mingyu to be this adamant about his position, something huge must have been behind it. Chan sighed, realizing that this fight might actually be deeper than he thought. He still wanted to help though, in whatever way he could.

"What do you mean Mingyu? What did he do?" he asked, sitting down next to his friend.

"Honestly, we both did something. I can’t put the entire blame on him. But there are some things he must think about first before we go back to how we used to be. If he even wants that, for the matter." Mingyu muttered, and finally, some hints of the sadness he must have been feeling about the situation reached his voice. "Anyway. You should probably leave. It's almost dinner time. Seokjin will be looking for you." he quickly recovered from it.

"Hyung. Don't brush me away like this. Minghao does the same. Am I or am I not your friend? Please tell me what's going on." Chan frowned.

"Channie... You are my friend. One of my dearest, together with Minghao. But trust me when I say that you don't need to be involved in this situation." Mingyu smiled. "I promise that eventually I will talk with Minghao. Don't worry alright?"

Chan looked at the ground, not convinced from the footman's words. Nothing had been solved and he was not more at peace. Mingyu’s reassurances fell on deaf ears. If anything, Chan was even more worried than before, now that he partly understood that this was no normal argument.

"Fine, I'm leaving.” he murmured, defeated. “But you two should know that you are hurting more people than yourselves by acting like this." were his final words before he exited the room.

~*~

Mingyu sighed. Chan had been right, no matter how he looked at it. They _did_ hurt more people by behaving like that. But there wasn't anything else that he could do now, rather than wait. Wait for Minghao to forgive and accept him back. He wasn’t going to leave Wonwoo for things to go back to normal, it was impossible at this point. If they had been playing chess, the move would have been on Minghao’s side.

Mingyu got on his bed and laid on his back, facing the ceiling. His childhood memories came crushing down on him like a waterfall. He remembered the days when they were running around the castle chasing one another. Playing with wooden swords and fake horses. They would visit the royal garden, admiring the beautiful flowers. Sometimes they would play at the stables, helping Hoseok out, only the three of them…

Mingyu felt his eyes stinging. Could it be that he had actually lost all these forever? Was this the price he would have to pay for finding love? He had made up his mind, he would pay the price, whatever it was, but he had hoped that it would hurt less than this. He rolled his head sideways facing the clock on his bedside table. Eleven forty-five. His mouth felt dry, so he decided to pay a small visit to the kitchen.

He was used to walking through empty corridors in the middle of the night, not meeting a soul. For once, his wandering around wasn't illegal, so he didn't try to be inconspicuous. He exhaled deeply as he opened the door of the kitchen, only to yelp in surprise.

"Soonyoung hyung?!" he exclaimed, clenching his shirt.

"Wahh Mingyu?!" a startled steward yelled and hid something behind his back.

"Hyung?" Mingyu repeated and closed the kitchen's door behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Soonyoung said quickly. "What are _you_ doing? Seokjin hyung isn't here, he can't feed you."

"I came because I was thirsty.... Soonyoung hyung. What are you hiding behind your back?" Mingyu asked, crossing his arms on his chest.

"None of your business. You're underage." Soonyoung narrowed his eyes.

Mingyu looked at him confused. He was clearly not underage anymore.

"Hyung, I'm twenty, remember?" he snickered.

"No way!” Soonyoung’s eyes widened comically. “When did you grow so old Mingyu? When did _I_ grow so old? Am I gonna end up a miserable, loveless old man like my father?" he whined.

Mingyu wanted to laugh so badly at the faces his hyung was pulling, but he held it in. Clearly it was one of those nights again. Mingyu had found out that the night he saw Soonyoung drinking in the kitchen wasn't his first or last. He smiled softly at the other and took a seat beside him, not forgetting to take a cup out of a cupboard first.

"Come on hyung. Haven't you been told that it's not fun to drink alone?" he said and pointed the silver cup towards him.

Soonyoung gaped at him.

"No way. I'm not turning my little duckling into an alcoholic." he said but put the bottle of wine he was hiding behind his back on the counter.

"One time won’t make me an alcoholic. Besides, I have been drunk before." Mingyu encouraged him.

Soonyoung gaped even more dramatically. It was only when Mingyu stopped being able to hold back his laughter that he collected himself.

"You've seriously grown up, haven't you?" the steward asked, sipping his drink.

"That's what I tell people! But they don't believe me. They say I'm too innocent..." Mingyu said, taking the bottle of wine and filling his own cup.

"Are you?" Soonyoung asked seriously.

"Honestly I don't know..." Mingyu sighed. "I guess I’m still naive, rather than innocent."

Soonyoung snorted.

"That's the worst part of it isn't it? You're too self-aware to let yourself bask in pure happiness but you are still not experienced enough to deal with the real world." Soonyoung finished his wine in one gulp and filled it up again.

"I don't think I want to deal with it. The world is cruel and unforgiving. It always judges you..." Mingyu pouted, taking a big gulp of his wine as well.

"Tell me about it. The advice from your hyung is to try and not deal with it alone. Find someone to spend your life with." Soonyoung frowned.

Mingyu stayed silent for a moment. He was conflicted whether or not to tell Soonyoung about his problem. He needed advice, and quickly. All the commotion with Minghao had hurt him deeply. He was feeling more alone than ever. The mere idea of losing his best friend was torture. And all this just because he was different…

"Hyung? Can I ask you something?" Mingyu uttered, hesitant.

Soonyoung turned to him, his eyes still being able to focus. Mingyu bit his lip. He couldn't tell the steward about Wonwoo. This was something he wouldn't ever trust anyone with willingly. But he still needed some reassurance.

Soonyoung looked at him expectantly.

"What do you do when something you want is bound to be illegal? When you can't have it just because the world thinks it's wrong?" he asked carefully.

Soonyoung turned his eyes away.

"You suffer." he said with conviction and downed his drink again.

Mingyu coughed out the wine. Well, that was not what he had expected, especially from Soonyoung, of all people. Just _who_ had hurt him like this? Mingyu’s throat started burning.

"I was looking for something more... positive?" he choked out.

Soonyoung sighed. "I'm sorry Mingyu. It is a great question you have there. When you have your answer, please share it with me." he patted his leg.

Mingyu sighed too. So much for motivation. "Alright hyung. I'll let you know." It was such a huge mystery what happened to Soonyoung that caused him to end up like that, heartbroken and alone. "Come on hyung, let's drink. "

"Cheers to that." Soonyoung lifted his glass up and then drank it in one go again.

Mingyu watched him drink his third cup, and he started getting a little worried. "Hyung... What happened? You seem so stress and sad..." he whispered.

"No I'm not. I'm fine. I'm always happy right?" the steward giggled.

"Not now though... and I don't think people are drinking so much because they are happy. You can tell me you know. I give good advice." Mingyu gave one of his puppy smiles.

Soonyoung smiled and put his arm around Mingyu's broad shoulders. "Of course you do. I envy you sometimes, Mingyu. You are so strong. I'm not scared for your future at all." he said and didn't continue for a while, gathering his thoughts. "I thought I was like that too. I always believed in myself, even in times others didn't. As long as I had a certain someone's support everything was fine..." he murmured.

Mingyu frowned at that. A certain someone’s support?

"But.... You don't think that anymore? What happened?" he asked, scooting a bit closer.

"I think I messed up. I got greedy, wanted too much. And now I have nothing." Soonyoung replied quietly. Soonyoung was many things, but not quiet. It immediately rang alarm bells in Mingyu’s head.

"They died?" Mingyu swallowed uncomfortably.

Soonyoung choked on his drink.

"Not on my watch!" he said passionately. "We... We just don't talk anymore."

"That's unfortunate, really. At least you don't see them anymore..." Mingyu said absent-mindedly and took a sip of his glass.

"Ha! If only it were that easy." Soonyoung snorted.

Mingyu arched an eyebrow at him.

"You meet them... But you don't talk? Isn't that a bit weird?" he questioned.

"We have business together. Above all, I am a steward, a responsible one at that. I can't slack off because I have bad history with a person." he tapped Mingyu's shoulder with every word he said, punctuating their meaning.

"Business huh?" Mingyu spoke. A person that does business with Soonyoung hyung but they don't talk… He frowned at his own thoughts. There was only one person that perfectly fitted that description.

But no way. It couldn't be. Mingyu shook his head.

"Say Soonyoung hyung, are they royal? Because they should be really important to do business with our steward." Mingyu encouraged him to continue giving hints.

Soonyoung snorted, amused. "They wish they were royal."

"But they are important right? I know you wouldn’t bother with them if they weren’t worth your time." the footman continued.

Soonyoung raised his eyebrows. Uh oh. Maybe Mingyu had been too obvious in his questioning.

"Don't interrogate me young man. I've never told anyone about this person. My little duckling won't trick me into revealing it now." he said, waving his finger in front of Mingyu’s face.

"I'm sorry hyung, I didn't mean to intrude. I just wanted to help you out." Mingyu said bowing his head. He maybe got too far, to be fair, asking all those questions. But oh God, everything made a bit more sense now.

_General Jihoon what happened between you and our hyung?_

Mingyu sipped his drink, lost in his thoughts. Didn't the steward and the general use to be friends? He didn't remember clearly, because back then he only hung out with Minghao and Chan. But even if they had never been friends, Soonyoung was extremely social. There were very few people he didn't talk to and the most prominent one was definitely the general.

Mingyu shook his head. He was overthinking things. Now that he was with Wonwoo, he saw things differently than he used to. Not everyone could be like him. And definitely not this hyung.

They continued drinking for a while until Mingyu decided it was enough for a day. The clock had hit midnight half an hour ago. He had work tomorrow.

"I should probably return to my room. Are you coming hyung?"

"Mm in a while. I have to clean this up.” Soonyoung vaguely waved at the cups and the wine bottle. “Ah, Mingyu. Please don't mention this meeting to anyone. I don't want anyone to worry." he said as seriously as he could.

"Your secret is mine too." Mingyu smiled and hugged his hyung before he exited the kitchen, trailing back to his room.

Mingyu should have felt bad, but listening to another person's problems made him briefly forget about his own. He sincerely hoped Soonyoung found his way. He deserved to be happy as much as anyone. Though if Mingyu's assumptions were correct, he could picture his hyung drinking every night for the rest of his life. He really wished that his mind was wrong.

He sighed as he laid down on his bed. At least he wasn't alone. Losing Minghao sounded terrible, but at least he had Wonwoo on his side. His knight was always so comforting. He knew what it meant to be alone, to spend your life without friends.

When Wonwoo had first mentioned this, they had been sitting on the carpet of his room, together with Junhui. The Chinese had slapped the back of his head and had said that those days were over. Wonwoo had glared at him, but Mingyu was grateful for Junhui, for all the help and acceptance he had given them freely. Junhui liked Wonwoo enough to protect them both, which lifted a huge burden off of Mingyu’s shoulders.

Especially now, that there was someone that apparently didn't like Wonwoo at all.

Junhui had learned some interesting stuff while snooping around the knight’s dorms. Since the day that Wonwoo's suspension was over, there had been some suspicious movement there. Junhui had not rested until he had procured a name.

Mingyu crackled his fingers as he recalled it. Bogum. It sounded so unimportant, so easy to forget, yet here it was, bothering Mingyu like a mosquito he couldn’t swat away.

This Bogum was being a nightmare to Wonwoo. Junhui had told Mingyu the other day that he wouldn't stop bothering his boyfriend during training. He called him the general's pet or bondman. He said that Wonwoo’s one-week suspension had been way too light of a punishment, and that was because he clearly did something to please the general.

Mingyu had been furious in the beginning, of course. The last thing they needed was such rumors of Wonwoo going around right now. Thankfully, most knights knew that Wonwoo was not like that and continued to ignore him, like they usually did.

Wonwoo himself didn't seem to mind. He had smiled sadly at Mingyu, kissed his cheek and said not to worry, everyone lost interest in him after a while, and Bogum would be no different.

Mingyu had looked at him with wide eyes, crushing him in a hug and reassuring him that _he_ would never lose interest.

The memory brought a smile to Mingyu's lips. He wanted to always hug Wonwoo like that. He imagined how would it be if they slept in the same bed, if they woke up together. He sighed and hoped one day he could realize that dream.

~*~

Minghao groaned as he detached himself from the couch in his study room. Another day sleeping on that cursed thing and he was going to become paralyzed. He cracked his neck and his back, trying to relax his tense muscles.

What was he even doing? How many hours had he spent on that couch looking out of the window to that blasted wall above the warehouse? This was getting out of hand. Mingyu wouldn't be stupid enough to go outside from that spot again, not while they weren’t on speaking terms.

Then again, there wasn't any other place they could escape from, so the prince assumed they had stopped. Was Mingyu afraid that he would rat him out?

Because not matter how weird things were between them, Minghao would never do that. Things had gotten complicated between them and they hadn't talked since the incident, but Minghao wasn't heartless enough to kill his friend.

His friend who wasn't in a good shape himself, either. According to Chan, the footman was a walking exhaustion. It was clear that Mingyu was trying to give Minghao space. He was waiting for the prince to make the first move this time.

And what had Minghao been doing all this time? He had spent a lot of time thinking. The new facts in his life had finally begun to sink in. He was past the initial anger, sadness and hopelessness. Now he just missed his friend. He wanted to talk to him, to say how he felt about the whole situation, share his beliefs and explain his reactions. A part of him though knew he shouldn’t, not this time. This was not about him, but about Mingyu. He had to swallow his feelings and let his best friend explain himself. And for the past week he hadn't allowed him to do so.

He was tired of not talking to Mingyu.

Minghao got up from the couch, went outside and inhaled deeply. It was a beautiful winter day. Translucent sunrays were bathing the courtyard, but everything was still freezing. He was so lucky he hadn't caught a cold that night, after going out without a coat.

He leaned on the railing and glanced at the storage room for what felt like the hundredth time already. He had to speak with Mingyu. Today. This madness couldn’t last any longer.

If he thought about it too much, he would change his mind, so before he could do so he ran to the stairs and back inside the castle.

He headed for the footman's room. Today was a slow day for Mingyu. Minghao had memorized his schedule a long time ago, so he knew that Mingyu had work only in the early morning. It was one in the afternoon, Minghao had _really_ slept in today, so the footman should be finishing up his duties.

His timing was impeccable. The moment he stepped foot on the ground floor he saw Mingyu emerging from the infirmary. They looked at each other and then Mingyu averted his gaze. Minghao felt a pang on his chest.

"Mingyu." he called.

"Your highness." the footman breathed, his eyes burning holes on the floor.

"Do you want to talk?" Minghao said, fidgeting with the end of his sleeves.

Mingyu shot his head up, his eyes full of hope. “Do _you?_ ”

Minghao felt even worse that apparently, Mingyu was not even mad at him anymore. It was all his own fault for delaying that talk for as long as they had.

"I would like that." he nodded.

Mingyu didn’t quite look like he believed him. So Minghao took half a step towards the corridor that led to his room. "Go on, I'm following." he said and Mingyu began walking in front of him, trying to hide a smile.

Minghao trailed behind him. Mingyu smiling was a good sign. His friend opened the door and signaled for him to go in first. Once they were both inside the familiar room, Mingyu pointed at his chair.

"You can sit." he said with a smile.

Mingyu sat at his bed as well. Silence followed. They both gazed at their feet trying to come up with what they wanted to say, but no words came out.

"Okay. I'm going first." Mingyu looked up and said, finding his determination.

Minghao looked up, a little surprised. Mingyu must have really wanted to talk to him if he took the initiative like that. "Be my guest." Minghao nodded at him.

Mingyu took a deep breath.

"First of all, I want to apologize because all this time I have kept you out of some really important parts of my life, and this is my fault. Those past months have been... enlightening, I guess? It is always so refreshing to meet new people you know? And I somewhat owe it to you and Chan. You encouraged me so much to get to know Wonwoo. I... I wanted to thank you for that." he said.

"You're welcome I guess?" Minghao gave a confused smile. Mingyu timidly smiled back.

"So, what I haven't been telling you all this time, is what started to develop after those first times we met." he paused. "Well, looking back on it, nothing was special. You know we spent a lot of time together, he taught me sword fighting remember? But there was always something different about him. We did ordinary things that felt extraordinary. I cooked for him and instead of joking around and making a mess like I did with you guys, I remember feeling extremely satisfied when he liked my food.

What I am trying to explain is that suddenly, everything that I did naturally, without paying any mind, all those things were meaningful for him. And it made me extremely self-conscious. I realized things about myself I would never have otherwise. I... I feel like I grew up a little." Mingyu babbled. "I know what you're going to say, this is what friends are for, to help you grow into a better person, but that's not what Wonwoo did to me at all. He didn't help me to grow, he wasn't there simply to support me like a friend would. He was the one triggering all the changes. I grew up for him and with him." Mingyu took a breath.

Minghao's eyes were glued to his friend, same as all his attention. Mingyu must have been thinking about giving this speech, his expressions were so beautiful.

"I understand, go on." Minghao encouraged him.

Mingyu nodded, trying to collect his mind.

"So here I was, getting more self-conscious, learning new things both about Wonwoo and the world. I was really happy like that for a while. You remember that time? Both you and Channie have commented on it. I had my friends, I had Wonwoo and I was beginning to form conscious beliefs about life, not just repeating everything people told me. But you know, at some point I feel like I understood why you seemed to be so sad sometimes. I didn't realize this before, but there are umm... many things wrong about this world, yeah? And no one can deal with them alone.

Again, the logical thing was to go to my friends, you, to help me through that, but I didn’t. I had Wonwoo. He understood me so well. He seemed to be going through the same thing I did, but from the reverse. He has struggled in his life, you know? While I started getting more serious when the situation required it, he learned to relax and have fun." Mingyu couldn't help a fond smile on his face.

Minghao bit his lip and nodded. They had clicked, this was what this was all about. Mingyu had somehow managed to find a person who complemented him far better than any of the rest of them did.

"And even though I hadn't realized it back then,” Mingyu continued, “my subconscious had already acknowledged that Wonwoo was different, so I spent even more time with him. You remember how I couldn't get him out of my head for months? I had so much trouble sleeping. Until I figured out what it was that I was feeling." he paused a little and let out a bitter laugh.

"We were such a mess at the beginning. I'm so glad I didn't think it through and straight up confessed. He is very smart, he had realized what was going on a whole month before me, but he kept his feelings bottled up. He is much like you in that aspect. I think I have a type." Mingyu scrunched his nose and crossed his hands on his lap, waiting for Minghao’s reaction.

"And then you decided to be together. Hide from the rest of the world, even from me and Chan. I don't blame you entirely you know. It was the most logical thing to do.” Minghao rubbed his arm, taking all the new information in.

It was a lot to think about. It was hard to look at a person you have known your entire life and suddenly realize that they were not entirely that person anymore. Mingyu was still Mingyu, but he was growing up.

"So?" the footman asked instead, some fear making his way to his voice. "Now you know everything. What do you think?" he added, his fingers fidgeting in expectation.

Minghao sighed. Growing up was inevitable. At this point, Minghao was just glad that they were talking instead of ignoring it and letting things get worse.

"You know Mingyu... I did a lot of thinking the last few days.” he said. “Honestly, I never ever expected you to break so many rules in only a few months, I think this is what freaked me out the most. From the day I met you, you were so noble and obedient, following the rules one by one. You were always so afraid to make even the smallest mistake. So when I found out about all these things you have been doing without me knowing I was dumbfounded. From the beginning of it until the end, everything you’ve been doing illegal. But you continue doing it for some reason, risking your honor and your life. That was what got me thinking. No one puts himself in so much danger over a small obsession... It's not logical."

Minghao sighed. "The nigh I caught you, that idiot knight said something to me that I didn't get at first. He asked me if I knew what true feelings meant, what _love_ means. I couldn't answer him... I guess this is because I've never experienced something so strong. So I analyzed your situation to the best of my ability and I concluded that you do truly like that knight, that he is important to you in a life-changing way."

He gathered all his left courage for his next words. "And it's not wrong. Pure feelings are never wrong. I know as much, even if our laws say otherwise. You're different Mingyu. Both you and Wonwoo. But being different doesn't recant the fact that you're still my best friend. Those days were torturous for both of us. You mean more to me than you can imagine. And I won't let something that... simple to get between us."

Minghao took a deep breath. "I'm still hurt that you didn't trust me, but I can tell that I wouldn't trust myself with that either... So I'm sorry. "

Mingyu immediately scooped him up in a hug.

"I'm sorry too." he said with a sob. "Thank you so much. You're so great! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he chanted.

"Don't leave me behind ever again you hear me, you giant idiot?" Minghao hugged him tighter.

"I won't." Mingyu confirmed. "I'm sorry, I was so scared..." he whispered.

"I know, I understand." Minghao replied. "You shouldn't worry though. Everything is going to be alright." he patted his back.

Mingyu pulled back, brushing his hair back.

"So you're not... disgusted or anything?" he asked hesitantly.

"It's weird, yes, because I’ve never seen something like this in the past. But disgusting is far from what I feel about it. Though I do wonder how that other idiot knight got involved." Minghao said, laughing a little.

Mingyu giggled. "That idiot knight is the one who made Wonwoo come to terms with what was happening. Trust me, things would have been far worse if it hadn’t been for him. We both owe him so much, you can't even imagine." he said.

“Well… I guess he did good to protect you, but he attacked his prince. That was a moronic move, if I have ever seen one.” Minghao huffed.

Mingyu smiled sympathetically. Once Minghao had a negative first impression on someone it was next to impossible to change it, and his friend knew it more than anyone. Mingyu chuckled, shaking his head.

"Please don't hate him. He is such a great friend." he said.

"Whatever, let’s forget about him.” Minghao grabbed Mingyu’s hand. “Mingyu you're my friend alright? And I want you to feel like you can rely on me for everything you need. I'm here in this with you." he seriously. “This is what I want you to remember leaving this conversation.”

At these words, Mingyu’s mouth trembled weirdly. He didn’t react the way Minghao thought he would have.

"Uh-oh I don't like that look. What did you think?" Minghao asked, having spent too much time around Mingyu to not know when an idea popped to his head.

"Well... Do you have any other questions? How we met, what we do?" Mingyu asked, playing with his fingers absent-mindedly.

"First of all, I know how you met. I forced you to meet him, remember? And secondly... I don't think I want to get into details. But I wish you're happy with whatever you do." he said, not having any idea where this was going.

"That's what I thought... Never mind then..." Mingyu pouted, looking disappointed all of a sudden.

"You are a big baby, do you know that?" Minghao teased. "Tell me what you want." he poked him on the ribs.

Mingyu fidgeted a bit, before he looked up at him. "You could come with us one day?" he suggested hopefully. "You said no secrets anymore. Those nights are a major part of my life now. If you only came once, you would understand everything."

"Me? Sneaking out at night?” Minghao raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I don't think it's a very good idea Mingyu..." he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

Mingyu looked at the ground again, the disappointment back on his face. "I understand." he said.

Minghao sighed. Mingyu took things to heart easily. Maybe refusing this now would cause more harm than good in the long-term. One time shouldn’t hurt that much, right? Mingyu had snuck out a lot, and he had never been caught. Maybe, if it was just once, Minghao could get away with it too.

He made up his mind and elbowed Mingyu to get his attention. "When are we going?" he smiled conspiratorially .

"What? Seriously?" Mingyu whipped his head up.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Minghao said amused. "I will come with you for one time. A little adrenaline won't be so bad."

"I promise it is safe! We've done it a lot of times and no one has ever caught us! Well, expect for you..." Mingyu frowned a little.

"I hope you're right. So when is the next outing?" the prince asked casually.

"We can plan it for tomorrow. Ahh it's been so long!" Mingyu clapped his hands excited. "I can't believe you're coming with us!"

"Easy there," Minghao laughed, patting Mingyu’s shoulder. He was so happy that he got Mingyu back. He had missed him too much in that week they hadn’t spoken.

"I have to write a letter. We usually get Junhui to deliver them, that's how we organize these outings." Mingyu got up from the bed and pushed Minghao away from his desk.

"I can't believe you have that idiot doing everything for you. Your secret keeper, your bodyguard, which by the way he isn't so good at, and your personal pigeon? I'm disappointed in you." Minghao scoffed.

"He really isn't an idiot. Do you finally realize how important he is to us? Also you're going to spend some time together with him out there, be prepared for that." Mingyu replied.

"What?! You're going to leave me alone with him? Mingyu he tried to kill me!" Minghao complained.

"Not without a good reason! You know, those nights are for Wonwoo and I to have a little more... private time." Mingyu blushed as he said those words. "Junhui usually waits by the entrance."

"Ugh fine!" Minghao groaned. "But if he tries anything funny, I will scream, just saying." he huffed and looked away.

"He _won’t_ hurt you. If anything, he will protect you from any intruders." Mingyu said absentmindedly, trying to concentrate on the letter he was writing.

"Whatever..." Minghao said and leaned on Mingyu's desk, taking a peek at his letter. "What are you writing?" he asked curiously.

“Ahh nothing important. Just informing Wonwoo of what happened and telling him we can go tomorrow.” Mingyu smiled sweetly at the thought of his knight.

"You say everything to Wonwoo?" the prince asked.

"Yes." Mingyu replied without hesitation. "It gets embarrassing sometimes, but if I keep anything from him, I feel like I will explode."

"Well, that’s not new for you," Minghao chuckled.

Mingyu giggled, not even bothering to deny it. He would have complained so much in the past about this statement, but now, it looked like he was starting to accept some parts of himself confidently, without making a fuss. He drew a heart on his paper and folded it carefully. Was this what love did to Mingyu? Was this because of Wonwoo too?

"Alright, so Junhui will be here around five in the afternoon to take it. That’s when he usually checks on me." Mingyu said, sealing the letter.

Minghao rolled his eyes, still not liking the idea of cooperating with the person that tried to kill him. "I should get going then. I don't want to accidentally run into him." he said.

"Minghao I know that you are stubborn when it comes to first impressions but give him one more chance. You'll see he is a really good person." Mingyu tried to convince him one last time.

"I will be the one to judge that." Minghao narrowed his eyes and walked towards the door. "See you at dinner?" he asked.

"Of course, your Highness!" Mingyu bowed.

Minghao left the room with mixed emotions. On one hand, he got his friend back. That alone made his heart lighter, like a missing piece was back in its place. On the other hand, Mingyu wasn't entirely _his_ anymore, and it showed.

A part of Minghao knew he was being silly. Mingyu was his own person, Minghao didn’t own him. And after tomorrow, he would get to experience first-hand that unique relationship. Maybe then he would stop feeling weird about it.

No matter what, everything would be clearer after tomorrow.

~*~

The next day ran smoothly for the two friends. Minghao saw Chan thanking the heavens when he saw Mingyu and him chatting while the footman was sweeping the ballroom. With a smile from ear to ear, he hugged them both, whining like a baby about how long it had taken them to patch things up. The duo smiled softly at him. They had indeed been hurting more people than just themselves.

Minghao ate his lunch quickly and retreated back into his room. He needed to mentally prepare himself for the following hours.

It would be difficult, Minghao knew that. But he was going to do it for Mingyu, his best friend. Just one night. Everything was going to be fine.

Mingyu had told him not to dress excessively. Strictly black clothes, and as comfortable as possible. Minghao had added warm to that list. He escaped sickness once, he wasn’t sure he could do it again.

He didn't have many choices to pick from that were so dark, so he put on some workout breeches he used to wear when he accompanied Mingyu to his exercising lessons. He wore a wine red shirt but covered it completely with his thick, black coat. He definitely wasn't going to freeze that night.

It was half an hour before they had scheduled to leave, when Minghao sneaked out of his room towards the ground floor. He walked quickly and quietly, climbing down the grand stairs and ran towards Mingyu's room. He knocked on his door and in a less than a second he was inside, door closing behind him.

Mingyu was dressed like him, albeit with a much thinner coat. No amount of dark clothes could stop his face from glowing though. He beamed at Minghao, radiating happiness. He looked so excited to finally have his best friend join him.

"Hi." Minghao said with a small smile.

"Hello there! Fashionable as ever I see." Mingyu chuckled at his friend.

"You always say that." Minghao snickered. "You look great too. And I don't mean just externally."

"I’m… I’m just happy that my friend is with me again." Mingyu’s smile was so huge, his canines showed.

"You're saying that now, but I fear the moment you see Wonwoo you will forget about me." Minghao revealed his secret fear quietly.

Mingyu's eyebrows immediately arched up in surprise, his whole expression changing. "What?! Is that what you’ve been thinking all along?" he asked. "Of course I won't! Minghao you're my best friend! No one is taking that from you, I promise! Nothing changes between us." Mingyu said and hugged his friend.

Minghao hugged him back. It was a small relief, he couldn’t deny it, but he wouldn’t be able to completely believe it until he saw it himself. "Okay." he said simply. "Shall we go?"

Mingyu looked at the clock. Five minutes before it stroke twelve. "Yeah, let's get going." he said and pulled his hood up.

Mingyu walked in front of Minghao, guiding him outside the castle and towards the gardens, with the prince following quietly behind. Even though Minghao was the prince, the moment they walked out of Mingyu's room the title lost its power. He was not superior to anyone, not allowed to give out orders. He clung onto Mingyu's coat, relying on his childhood friend to lead them to safety.

The walked in the shadows quickly, not making a sound. After two minutes, they reached the back of the gardens.

Junhui and Wonwoo had beaten them to there. Mingyu literally squeaked when he saw his knight and rushed to hug him. Minghao looked at the scene intensely, still not knowing how to feel about this development. Wonwoo looked a lot more timid than his friend.

"Your highness." Wonwoo made a 90-degree bow when he laid his eyes on him, pulling Junhui along.

"Umm rise, please. Let's pretend I'm not the prince today okay Wonwoo? I want to meet you as only Mingyu's friend." Minghao said, bowing a little as well to show his intentions.

Wonwoo fidgeted nervously, obviously itching to bow again. If anything, that showed he was a well-trained knight, hesitating to show disrespect. Minghao appreciated that.

Junhui on the other hand, smiled and relaxed immediately.

"Not you." Minghao spoke in Mandarin. "For you I am still the prince." he said.

The Chinese knight rolled his eyes at him but didn’t reply. "We should go. It's twelve already, come on." he said simply, walking first.

Mingyu gestured at Minghao to get behind him, leaving Wonwoo at the end. They reached the familiar warehouse. Minghao took a deep breath and climbed it up as easily as the others. It was what was coming next that was going to be the hard part.

Wonwoo went first. Next Mingyu. He climbed almost effortlessly, testament to how used he was to this. Minghao was impressed with how good he had become.

"Your turn, your highness." Junhui said, tugging the rope's end towards the prince.

"This feels awfully familiar." Minghao murmured and grabbed the rope with determination.

"Hands inside your sleeves my prince." Junhui reminded him.

"Right." Minghao said, focusing on the task at hand. He pulled his sleeves over his hands and pushed his body up the wall.

It was no easier than it had been the first time. Minghao’s muscles trembled.

"I know you're not gonna listen to me but I'll tell you anyway..." Junhui said from behind him. "Try to hook your heels on the stone's sharp edges, it will be easier to balance on the wall. Lean your body forward and put strength on your biceps not your forearms, or else you will pull a muscle." the knight advised, his gaze stuck at the top of the wall.

Minghao may have been prideful, but at that moment he would take any advice to make the climb up easier, even if it came from a person that had tried to kill him a few days ago. They didn't have enough time after all, and he somehow had to be as quick as his friends.

Speaking of friends, the prince could see Mingyu waving at him from the top of the wall encouragingly, but Wonwoo pulled him back from the collar of his shirt. Minghao rolled his eyes. At least the knight was smart enough to not let Mingyu draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

The prince gulped as he tightened his hold on the rope. He inhaled sharply and with a quick move he put his foot on the wall, pulling himself up.

"Good job!" Junhui exclaimed behind him, overly excited, clearly mocking Minghao.

Minghao tsked, annoyed by the knight’s audacity. He continued to ignore him though, in favor of reaching the top. He concentrated on climbing up and breathing through every step.

It was very hard, but Junhui's advice had been invaluable. Mingyu, having somehow escaped Wonwoo's hold, leaned as far down as physically possible and pulled him up the moment he was within his reach. Minghao suspected that his sudden strength stemmed from sheer excitement.

Minghao felt sweaty, even though it was winter, and a little dizzy when he looked at the ground, but he didn't mention it to anyone.

"Junhui hurry up." Wonwoo whispered.

The Chinese gave a thumbs up and in a matter of seconds he joined them on the wall. He smiled as he pulled the rope quickly up and then threw it on the other side.

"Me first. In case there's anyone down there." the knight said and started climbing down, hopping on the wall's surface as the rope moved freely around his hold.

"Me next!" Mingyu said excited, barely waiting for Junhui's signal.

To Minghao's dismay, his best friend was even better at climbing down than up. That left Minghao on his own, glancing at the ground uncertainly. He also noticed that he was alone with Wonwoo and that made everything ten times as uncomfortable.

"Umm be careful with your hands, please." Wonwoo said as politely as he could, trying to comply with Minghao's earlier request to be as casual with him as possible.

Minghao nodded, appreciating his effort. "I will. Thank you for the reminder." he said and with slow moves he grabbed the rope and put all his weight on it, without sparing a glance at the void beneath his feet.

This was even harder than climbing upwards. He couldn't see where he was placing his feet and he felt like was going to fall down any moment now.

"Err if you would like, you could wrap your legs around the rope and slide down, like Mingyu did." Wonwoo suggested from the top.

Minghao sighed but followed Wonwoo's advice. He wrapped his slim legs around the thick rope and stopped gripping at it with his hand so hard. Little did he know that his position made the rope slide between his thighs much quicker. The prince didn't even realize when he reached the street beneath him. He barely managed to contain a yelp.

He would have hit the ground and fallen on his ass, much like he had the previous time, if it wasn't for Mingyu wrapping his arms around his waist and steadying him.

"You did great!" he said, pulling him away so Wonwoo could slide down as well. "First time I did that, my palms changed skin."

"Was that the reason why you couldn't hold the broom properly for an entire week?" Minghao asked, wobbling a bit as he regained his balance.

"Of course you noticed." Mingyu rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you say anything back then?"

"I don't know, you do weird things all the time. I thought it was another technique to sweep the floor quicker." the prince shrugged.

Instead of answering, Mingyu turned around just in time to steady Wonwoo as he landed. The knight was a lot quicker to stand on his feet than Minghao, but instead of letting him go, Mingyu kept holding his hand.

Of course he did, they were out of the castle now, they were not in immediate danger anymore. Minghao tried not to stare too much at their linked hands. _This is normal,_ he kept repeating to himself.

"Guys, what's taking you so long?" Junhui appeared from the corner of the alley.

"Nothing, let's go!" Mingyu's excitement wasn't going to go anywhere, anytime soon.

He dragged Wonwoo with one hand and pushed Minghao with the other towards Junhui’s direction. They passed by him, but they continued walking towards the main street without him joining. Junhui stayed a few feet behind them, silently following them.

Minghao slapped Mingyu's hand away and kept walking on his own.

"What's wrong with Junhui?" he asked bluntly.

To his surprise, it was Wonwoo who replied at him. "He felt a bit offended that the previous time you succeeded in following us without him noticing.” he smiled slightly. “Now he stays behind because it helps him concentrate better on his surroundings."

Minghao huffed. "It was easy following you. You were joking around like you were going for a walk at the market and not sneaking away from the castle in the middle of the night." he said.

"And that’s what Junhui realized, so now he is being extra careful." Wonwoo nodded. "You bruised his ego, your highness..." he smiled, obviously finding the whole thing amusing now.

Minghao smirked. "Good." he said and Mingyu elbowed him.

"Stop being so mean! Give him a chance to prove himself." he said, a little fed up with Minghao's attitude towards the other.

"He almost killed me." Minghao deadpanned.

"Because, one, he didn't know you and two, he was afraid you would betray us." Mingyu argued.

"That's what friends do according to him.” Wonwoo added softly. “He swore to me that he would protect us at all costs before we started all this sneaking out thing."

Minghao turned to him. "Well, I don't agree with his methods. But anyway, this isn't about Junhui." Minghao smiled at Wonwoo. "Whose idea was it meet up like this in the first place?" he asked.

"Mine!" Mingyu announced proudly.

"But we discussed it first. _Together_." Wonwoo added.

He emphasized the last word, and Minghao was glad to realize that he wasn’t trying to run away from his decisions. Wonwoo seemed as certain as Mingyu about this, and despite the dangers, he wouldn’t let him deal with the consequences alone. How sweet of him.

"Then I asked Junhui for help, and when he agreed we planned things out." the knight continued. "If Junhui hadn't agreed we wouldn't have been able to do anything. We would have stayed at the palace, trying to contain our feelings."

"We would suffer." Mingyu sighed dramatically.

Wonwoo snorted at that. "Don't exaggerate Mingyu..." he said fondly.

"Oh, so you're saying you would be okay with it?" Mingyu crossed his arms, pouting.

The loving smile Wonwoo gave him said it all, in Minghao's opinion. The prince tried not to look away in embarrassment. Once again, he wondered how he had missed this relationship blooming right underneath his nose.

"It's a good thing you talk. Communication is very important in relationships, I've heard." Minghao said, trying to sound casual.

"That's what Junhui told me that other day too. That's why we try not to hide anything." Mingyu said proudly, taking Wonwoo's hand back in his own.

"So Wonwoo." Minghao began, and the knight straightened his shoulders attentively.

“Yes!” he answered as if a superior was calling him. But then he must have remembered Minghao’s words about being friendly with each other, because he shook his head. “I mean… yes?”

Minghao chuckled. Maybe getting to know that knight wouldn’t be as much of a chore as he had initially thought. "I heard you like reading?" he asked conversationally.

Wonwoo glanced at Mingyu, knowing that he was the one blubbering about his love for books. Mingyu smiled sheepishly at him and looked away.

"Emm... yes I do." the knight said in the end.

"I remember Mingyu buying the Hunchman of Notterdam for you. You like historical fiction?" Minghao asked and Wonwoo immediately perked up.

"Yes actually. Very much." he flashed a beautiful, genuine smile.

That was the most excited he had appeared the entire night. Minghao couldn’t help but smile back at him.

"I don't know how Mingyu managed to get an intellectual umm," a small pause, "boyfriend." he said, his smile not faltering.

"Oh look at that, we reached our destination, Minghao you can stop talking now!" Mingyu said out of the blue, interrupting his boyfriend's soft laugh.

The hole in the wall was just liked Minghao remembered it. One by one, they started going inside the old hospital grounds, with Junhui being the last one to enter.

"So off you go." Junhui urged the other two, waving his hands towards the back of the building.

There was a moment when everyone looked at each other, judging how comfortable they were with the situation. Wonwoo looked at Mingyu, Mingyu at Minghao and Minghao back at Junhui who flashed him one of his dramatic, exaggerated smiles.

Minghao rolled his eyes. He then sighed and addressed the couple.

"Go on then. I hope I'm alive when you return. If not... Wonwoo it was a pleasure meeting you, Mingyu take care." he sniffed jokingly.

Mingyu wrapped his arm around Wonwoo, not a sign of pity on his face. "Good luck!" he said and pulled Wonwoo upstairs.

Once they were gone, the prince eyed the Chinese knight before approaching him carefully.

"I won't bite you." the other said, grinning.

"I sure hope not. I wouldn't want you face anywhere near me." Minghao said, raising his eyebrows.

"Alright then..." Junhui said and walked towards the hole. He leaned his back on the wall and stayed there, looking at nothing in particular.

Minghao looked around him for a while, trying to ignore the knight. The courtyard would have looked creepy if he was alone, half doused in darkness and half lit by the moonlight. They had brought two lanterns with them. Wonwoo had taken one with them upstairs and the other was resting next to Junhui. Minghao sat down at a bench not far away from the light source.

There were new plants growing on the ground now that the snow has melted. They were spread between the tiles of the abandoned courtyard and hanging from the stone walls. It had obviously been a long time since a gardener visited this building. Minghao wondered how the rest of the hospital looked like, but he didn't want to go upstairs and risk bumping into the couple. He knew he wasn't ready to see whatever they were doing when they were alone. So he remained seated on his place, a few meters away from the knight.

Junhui had sat on the ground. He had dragged his right leg towards his chest while the other was stretched in front of him. His head was leaning against the rocky surface, tilted sideways. The small lantern was illuminating his face, casting a warm orange colour on his characteristics. He had pulled his sword, along with its sheath, from his belt and had placed it on his lap. His lean fingers were dancing around a red ribbon that was attached at the sword's handle. His eyes were stuck on the hole, his ears perked up on alert.

Minghao's eyes trailed to that ribbon. He wondered if it was just a stylistic choice or if it had some emotional value. He hadn't thought that the knights were allowed to have customized swords. He smiled faintly at the memory of a thirteen-year-old Mingyu, describing in amazing detail how his sword would have looked like if he was a knight.

Minghao looked at Junhui’s calm face. He seemed relaxed, but Minghao knew from experience that he was ready to leap up at anything that came through the opening. But was he paying attention to the inside the courtyard? Something dangerous might approach form a side he wasn't looking at.

Minghao felt like testing him. He was supposed to be a guard, but he had failed at it once. Who told him that he wasn’t going to do it again?

Junhui seemed focused, but _how_ focused? Would his concentration break easily? Minghao grabbed a stone from the ground and threw it inside the fount, scaring some fish away.

Junhui did not look away from the hole. "Nice try." he said with a smirk.

Minghao snickered. Alright, Junhui did not fall for that. "They should place you on guard duty by the castle's entrance." he said, belatedly realizing that this was an almost compliment

"Why so? I thought the guards there were really good." the knight questioned, only now turning to look at him.

"I, the prince, got out of the castle by throwing a rock the other way." Minghao deadpanned.

Junhui threw his head back laughing. "They fell for that? And _I'm_ called the least trusted knight." 

"Don't get me wrong, I still don't trust you.” Minghao crossed his arms. “I'm here because Mingyu does." he reminded him.

"I know you don't. You sit two meters away from me." Junhui said sympathetically. "I guess it won't change anything if I say that I won't do anything to you, right?"

"True. You catch up quick." Minghao said, smirking.

"Thank you, my prince, that’s an honour coming from you." the knight said and then faced away again.

Minghao looked at the floor. Junhui passed the first test. It seemed he was aware about the dangers from all the ways. But what if something attacked him directly? Would he be too surprised to act?

He snorted as he imagined Mingyu's terrified face if he told him he threw a rock at his friend's face. So he grabbed a twig instead and waited for some time to pass. He counted to 200 and threw the stick as quickly and as hard as could.

With a quick move, Junhui caught the twig inches before it hit his face.

He threw a questioning glare at the prince, one that Minghao returned in earnest. Yeah, he was testing him, so what? The knight sighed and broke the twig before he focused his gaze on the hole again.

Minghao stared at him a bit longer. He passed the second test easily, and he didn't even question his prince, like a proper knight shouldn't. Minghao narrowed his eyes. Maybe there was hope for Junhui after all. He was a little sarcastic and overdramatic, but that may have been the cultural difference. He was foreign, after all.

Minghao thought of something crazy. What if he threatened him again like he had that night? Would he react the same way now that he knew more about Minghao? If he didn't attack back, maybe Minghao could trust him again. He got up from this bench and noticed the knight was looking at him from the corner of his eye. He walked around a bit aimlessly, seemingly observing the walls, until he felt Junhui looking away again. He slowly approached him, as inconspicuously as possible, pausing to look at the flowers for effect. This was the final test.

Suddenly, he run at Junhui. The knight's eyes snapped up to him but Minghao managed to kick his sword away with his foot.

Junhui was still quicker than him though. He stormed up and with a smooth maneuver he grabbed the prince’s wrists and pinned them behind his head, trapping him between himself and the wall.

"Stop it right now." the knight hissed right in front of his face, using his native language. He was clearly pissed with the other's attitude.

"Let me go." Minghao said in Korean, trying not to flinch from the hostile use of his mother's language. He had associated that accent with his mother’s gentle words. It felt disheartening to hear it like this.

"I know what you are trying to do, prince Minghao." Junhui said back, not fazed by the younger's glare. "So let me tell you this. I'm not going to do anything to you now. But if you ever pose a serious threat to Mingyu or Wonwoo, be sure that I won't hesitate to finish what I started the first night we saw each other."

Minghao glared at him even harder. "I knew you were hopeless." he said and tried to kick him off.

Third test failed. Minghao gritted his teeth, still being held captive no matter how hard he tried to break free.

"Look, I don't care what your opinion about me is, okay? You try to be smart and make assumptions about my character and who I am, but the hurtful truth is that you're not even _close_. You don't know me, alright? Clearly, you haven’t been taught that people change themselves based on the circumstances they face. But what am I even talking to you about...?" Junhui freed his hands. He looked at Minghao, eyes filled with disappointment and then moved to give him space.

The prince rubbed his hands together, looking at Junhui with contempt. That comment about not having been taught something bothered him. Minghao had always tried to appear educated and considerate for his people. He didn't want to be an ignorant ruler so he fought extra hard for any kind of knowledge. It was mainly because of that reason that he didn't want to leave things like that.

"Talk to me then. Who are you?" he asked.

The knight snickered, amused.

"My prince, I would love to tell you that, but I have a duty to fulfill. Besides, you don't really care about who I am." he said, turning his back on him and walking a few steps away.

Minghao crossed his arms. "You haven't given me any reason to care. Does Wonwoo know you then? It seems like he cares about you." he replied.

The knight sat at the same bench that the prince was before. "I care about Wonwoo, so I know things about him. He cares about me, but he doesn't know many things about me..." Junhui trailed off, looking at the ground. "He tries though so I appreciate it."

"So _you_ are the problem." Minghao said bluntly. It was refreshing to not to have to worry about hurting another person's feeling when talking. "Why don't you talk?"

The knight sighed tiredly. "Let's just say that after some time you get used to people not caring about you. It became a habit, I guess." the knight smiled.

"I will keep assuming things about you then." Minghao sat on the ground in front of him. "Did your parents die when you were young?"

The knight stiffened a little at the prince’s comment. He then smiled, like it hadn’t bothered him.

"You want to play with me, my prince?" Junhui flashed him a smirk, placing his chin on his palms.

Minghao smirked back. "If you would indulge me, my loyal knight." he said with fake sweetness.

"Alright then, but I don't assure you that you will like what you'll hear." Junhui said and lowered himself to sit on the ground, in front of the prince.

"It's okay, I already don't like you, no pressure." Minghao said. "So my previous question?"

"Yes, my parents. Well indeed my prince, all of my family is dead. Actually my parents died a long time ago." Junhui said a soft smile on his lips, his eyes never leaving the prince's.

"How old were you? Ten?" Minghao tried to guess again.

"Well I'm 21 now... 14 years have passed since then so I was 7 years old." the knight calculated.

Minghao hummed. "Is this why you feel like nobody cares about you? This is awfully cliché." he said, leaning back on his hands.

"My dear prince that was the beginning of my story. You are an impatient one, aren't you?" the knight laughed lightly. "When my family died, I was left alone. So the next logical thing for a low-class kid like me was the street."

"Okay next guess. You made friends from the street but something happened to them. Did they die, did they betray you?" Minghao continued.

"Actually I was dead alone." Junhui chuckled. "Until I reached my 11th year, I was roaming around aimlessly on the streets..."

Seokjin came from the "streets" as well, so Minghao wasn't really surprised by that. Not having a place to stay didn't make you any less of a person.

"What happened after you were eleven to make you like this?" Minghao gestured at the knight's general direction.

"I thought you were going to guess." Junhui grinned mischievously.

"Okay." Minghao clapped his hands. "Eleven is the age some knights start training. But I am guessing that wasn't the case with you?"

"No actually... Great guess." the knight smiled.

"Then where did your skills come from? Did you get involved with anything illegal?" the prince narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think you can call being on the verge of death illegal." Junhui laughed nonchalantly.

Minghao pursed his lips and drew his knees to his chest. That was a twist. Junhui didn’t look like a person who might have died on the streets. He looked healthy now.

"...I'm guessing you survived?" he said.

"Well obviously I did. I'm here, aren't I? Much to your disappointment, I am sure." Junhui snorted.

Minghao rolled his eyes but didn't throw back a caustic reply. He was surprisingly more interested in the rest of the story.

"Did an army man found you or something?" he asked.

"Close enough... I got severely ill. I hadn't eaten for days and I had very high fever. Thankfully after a couple of days an old man found me laying on the pavement at the central market. He took me in and healed me." Junhui said softly, the memory playing in his head.

"Did he teach you?" Minghao asked.

"It turned out he was an ex knight. And yes, he was the one that taught me. My skills are based on his lessons." the smile on his face was small but genuine.

"I see. What happened to him?" Minghao raised his eyebrows, expecting the worst.

"When I was fifteen, he died from a heart attack. His last wish was for me to become a knight. So I searched his house, found his resignation paper and went to the palace. I met with the general there and showed him the paper. General Han took me in and made me a knight. I was already trained to use a sword so I just perfected my skills." Junhui shrugged. He absent-mindedly started playing with the ribbon of his sword, and Minghao’s gaze was drawn back to it.

"I assume you made friends in the army." he guessed again.

"Not… immediately. When I first started training some of other knights approached me. They had heard where I came from so they weren't so fond of me. They made me do things for them, like care for their swords or take their shifts on guarding duty. After some time, they started calling me names and tried to show off their skills by fighting me. The old man that raised me had said to never use unnecessary violence, to always keep my anger to myself. So I was always letting them win." Junhui's nose scrunched up.

Finally, another expression than those annoying smiles. Minghao leaned a little closer to hear the next answer.

"Did you hurt any of them?"

The knight sighed deeply.

"Almost... It was one ordinary day. Like every time, they started with insults. Then one of them dared to talk bad about my old man. He called him a disgrace and a coward. Long story short, my old man had spared an enemy's life during a civil war. That wasn't appealing to the rest of the country but he wasn't afraid of them so he kept living proudly. Those insults were the last straw for me. I blacked out...” the knight murmured. “Everything happened so fast. The next thing I knew I had my sword at the against his throat." Junhui averted his eyes, as if he was regretting this now.

"You killed him?" Minghao’s eyes widened. Maybe there were more reasons to be weary of Junhui than he had originally thought. Even though killing that person back then would have been justifiable, the only thing that it showed Minghao was that Junhui was capable of murdering people close to him.

Before Minghao managed to think any further though, Junhui shook his head negatively. "No, I didn’t kill him. I sobered up at the right moment. The knight was trembling from fear underneath me. It was a terrible thing to do, drawing my sword against my own people. If the knight had told anything to the general, I would be either kicked out or executed. But he didn't... thanks to my dear Yanan. So I stayed there, and after a while I became a permanent knight at the royal army of my country." the knight finished with a smile, exactly like how he had started.

Minghao huffed.

"You should have hurt them. From the beginning. They would have left you alone. I think you were too patient." he said, pursing his lips disapprovingly. "And who's Yanan?"

"Yanan is my first real friend. He was the only one that reached out for me. He made an agreement with that jerk to not report me. I don't know what he promised him, he doesn't tell. But anyway, he was the first person that truly cared for me. Then I met a couple of other knights and from that moment my life was smoother." Junhui finished. "That's my life story my prince. That's who I am." the knight smiled at Minghao sweetly.

Minghao nodded at him.

"I see." he said and after a moment of silence he added. "This feels awfully personal. I didn't think you would... I mean, I know I asked but, why did you tell me? I won't pity you, you know."

"I don't know, I guess it's easier to talk to someone that you know doesn't care about you." the knight shrugged.

"See, I told you so." Minghao leaned back with a proud smile. "I am good at understanding people, you know?" he looked at Junhui pointedly.

When the knight didn't react, he continued.

"You, for example. You seemed like you were struggling to let out the deeper parts of your story. But suddenly you are all smiles again, trying to cover up for something. There's something you ain't telling me."

"There's nothing left for me to say me dear prince. That's my whole life up until now. You find it amusing, don’t you? How a street rat turned to be one of the best knights in his country?" Junhui said, a little annoyance back in his voice.

Minghao made a face. It shouldn't matter what a person like Junhui thought of him. And it was true, he didn't get all emotional with his story like he supposed other people would have, because he had focused on trying to pick out the events that made Junhui the man Minghao had met. He wanted the reasons behind his fierce, almost idiotic protectiveness of his friends.

He wouldn't judge Junhui based on what he'd been through, that would be unfair. No matter how hard the knight had it, he was still the man that would have killed him as easily as eating bread.

But now he was also the man who had trusted him with his life story. He obviously wanted to make a point with that story, but Minghao was failing to see it.

"Why did you really tell me this story Junhui?" he asked. "I think I am missing the point." he admitted.

"The point is that... as I told you previously, you assume that you know someone only by the first impression they leave to you. You don't care how that person became who they are, what's hidden deep inside them, their motives. That is one of your biggest disadvantages my prince. You're the heir to Gisa's throne, you will become king one day. Yet you stick to your assumptions like they mean the world, and you don't change your mind, no matter what someone tells you. The only reason you even tested me before was to prove yourself right.” Junhui leaned forward. “There are reasons behind actions.”

"Of course there are reason behind actions. Don't you think I know that? But as you said, I will become king one day and I can't afford to have deep personal talks with each and every subject of my kingdom. They will depend on me to rule them, to make decisions for them based on my assumptions. So as you realize, the most important thing for me is to get those assumptions to be as accurate as possible." Minghao told him, but then he took an abrupt breath.

He hadn't meant to say that. That was _his_ burden to carry, not Junhui's. Not even Chan or Mingyu knew about his views when it came to his future kingship. He felt pressure bubbling on his chest. Minghao wasn't comfortable with the turn the conversation has turned. It was true that it was easier to talk to someone you had no expectations from, someone you didn’t care about, but he had underestimated just how easier.

"And what if your assumptions are wrong, my prince? What if your people don't need something you consider necessary, or the opposite? If you don't talk with them how will you know? You have to hear them out, right?" the knight asked, furrowing his brow.

"How, Junhui? As one of the people I am going to rule over one day, what advice would _you_ give?" Minghao asked, actually curious, but not seriously expecting an answer to a question he had been asking himself ever since he was young.

"Well, I don’t have much knowledge when it comes to ruling." Junhui said. " But what do you think it is that people need most? Not the rich people, these airheads can obtain everything and they have more rights than all the lower classes combined. What do _poor_ people want? What will make them happy?”

A small pause. "Equality." Junhui pointed out. "They want someone to care about them, to acknowledge their existence. The majority of the people in your kingdom belong to lower classes, yet they are surviving every day working hard to make a living. Have you ever met any of them? Have you ever gone to the west side of your kingdom, my prince?" Junhui questioned.

"I haven't. I wasn't allowed to go past the port when I was younger." Minghao said thoughtfully. "But from the reports I see, they are not suffering as much as they used to, right? My father has improved this kingdom." he added.

"Your father is hiding things from you." Junhui said pointedly.

"You think so?" Minghao frowned.

He wasn't _that_ surprised though. He had done a lot of reading about previous dynasties and most of the great kings turned bad at some point. He feared his father might have been the same. He was more surprised that Junhui, a foreigner, had more knowledge about his kingdom than _he_ did. He kept in the back of his mind that the information he offered may not be accurate.

"I went there a couple of weeks ago. We had patrol duty with Wonwoo. Things have changed. And I wasn't the one that said that." the knight sighed, remembering Wonwoo’s tight-lipped words.

Minghao rested his head on his knees, considering this new information. He sighed deeply. As if he didn't have enough burden to carry already. Now he really wanted this conversation to be over.

"I'll see what I can do about it..." he said half-heartedly, not looking up at Junhui.

"You don't have to do anything for now, you know that. Just consider what I told you. Because you're the prince doesn't mean you should always have your guard up. Try to get to know your people. Show them that you care, not like you did to me." Junhui advised, patting him briefly on the shoulder, then he smiled.

Minghao rolled his eyes again, but this time it wasn't out of exasperation. The silence that spread was of a strange kind, one he hadn’t thought he would be sharing with someone like Junhui. It was the silence after a fruitful conversation, when both parties slowed down to evaluate the points that have been made.

Truthfully, Minghao felt that he understood Junhui a bit better now. He still kept his secrets of course, it wasn't like Minghao expected him to open up completely. He had gotten more out of him than he was prepared for as it was. And he had to admit, even begrudgingly, that Junhui had more depth in him than it showed.

Another part that bothered Minghao was the fact that he opened up about his worries as well. That wasn't something he was used to do. Mingyu and Chan had tried for ages to get him to talk about his deeper thoughts, but Minghao didn't think it was important. He should maybe reconsider this belief as well. After a long time he felt light, like some burden was lifted off his chest. He leaned back, laying on the dirt floor and looking up at the sky.

Junhui did the same thing. He leaned his back on the bench, arching his head up.

"The stars look beautiful tonight..." he mumbled softly.

Stupid Junhui just had to go and destroy that precious silence.

"You know what else is beautiful?" Minghao bit his lip, his hand twitching by his side.

Junhui looked at him cautiously. "What?" he asked hesitantly.

Minghao sat up and looked him in the eyes.

"The soil on your face." he smirked and threw some dirt from the ground towards Junhui.

The knight raised his hands to block it on reflex, but some of it managed to get on his hair anyway. He groaned, trying to shake it off, but his fingers only managed to spread it even more.

"Hey! Why did you do that?" Junhui glared at him, when it was obvious that he was going to need a bath to get it all off.

Minghao chuckled evilly.

"After a hard evaluation, I came to the conclusion that this would be the most suitable punishment for your attempt at my life." he said formally. "Be careful though, it can change anytime." he said and laid back down.

"I know, I know.... I'm the least trustworthy knight in your palace..." Junhui sighed, seemingly accepting the punishment. "At least my friends are safe..." he murmured.

"At least they are." Minghao sighed in agreement for once.

They spent the rest of their time in a slightly more hostile silence than the previous one. Minghao was lost in his thoughts with his eyes closed when he heard footsteps approaching them. He looked up and saw Junhui already on his feet, walking towards the approaching footman and knight.

"Everything alright? Did you have fun?" the Chinese asked the couple.

Wonwoo blushed all the way to his hair, while Mingyu threw a nervous glance towards Minghao. The prince gave him a tight smile. The fact that both their lips were puffy, Wonwoo's hair were messed up and Mingyu's coat was buttoned up wrong didn't make the situation easier. Junhui chuckled and went to fix Mingyu's coat.

"You must be careful Kim Mingyu-ssi." he said sweetly as he straightened him up.

It was annoying how Junhui became a different person when talking to someone he clearly cared about, Minghao thought. He wondered if these two knew about him as much as Minghao did now. He sighed, looked at the stars one last time and got up from the ground.

"You're alive!" Mingyu commented when Minghao reached them.

"Surprisingly." Minghao said dryly. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm perfect." Mingyu flashed a big smile at his friend. "You?"

"Great." Minghao said and turned to Wonwoo "Are you okay too?" he asked in a softer tone.

"I'm fine your highness, thank for your concern." the knight bowed slightly.

Minghao smiled at his inability to remain casual. He bowed back, just to get Wonwoo flustered again, and he missed how Mingyu beamed at their interaction.

"I had a splendid conversation with your friend while you were gone." Minghao told Wonwoo.

"You did?" Wonwoo asked shocked, his head turning to face Junhui.

"With Junnie hyung?" Mingyu asked equally shocked.

Minghao glared at Junhui, daring him to disagree. "Of course. We bonded." the other said.

"Why is it so difficult for you to believe it? Prince Minghao and I spoke for all kind of things." Junhui answered cheerfully.

Mingyu was much quicker to fall for this explanation than Wonwoo and it showed.

"I am so glad!" he said. "I told you they would eventually get along, didn't I?" he said to Wonwoo.

"I don't think this is exactly what they mean..." the knight said quietly, too self-conscious to say anything else.

Minghao smirked. He was glad he hadn't found a reason to dislike Wonwoo yet.

"Alright! Time to get back!" Junhui clapped his hands.

The moment they climbed out of the hole, Junhui assumed his post at the back. Once alone with the couple, Minghao slotted himself between them, much to Mingyu's dismay that he had to let go of Wonwoo's hand.

"So, to make it clear for my beloved best friend." Minghao said, throwing an arm around Mingyu. "Junhui hates me."

Mingyu sighed disappointed. "Yeah sure, like you gave him a reason not to…" he said.

"Well, at least I understand him a little better now.” Minghao shrugged. "But still," he continued, turning to Wonwoo. "You are much more likeable."

"I'm honored." Wonwoo replied, bowing again. "But please your highness, don't get Junhui wrong. He is a very sweet and loyal man. He acted on instinct the other day, he didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that... for some reason, which I haven't found out yet, he is determined to do whatever it takes for me and Mingyu. Please consider the possibility of forgiving him." the knight pleaded.

Minghao looked at the ground with a soft smile.

"I have already forgiven him." he said quietly, the wind blowing through his black hair. "He doesn't know it of course, and I don't plan on telling him. But I've got my revenge, so now it's okay." he smirked at the memory of Junhui's pretty hair covered in dirt.

“What did you do to him?” Mingyu narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Minghao changed places with Wonwoo, pretending to not have heard him. It was time to leave these two to themselves. They were allowed some last moments to be themselves before they returned to the castle. Wonwoo immediately clutched Mingyu's hand with both his own, and Minghao knew he did the right thing. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he had been the reason that a person who clearly valued Mingyu so much had been ripped away from him. Wonwoo was alright.

Minghao casted his gaze at the couple one more time and sighed in resignation.

"Love suits you Mingyu... It truly does."

Mingyu chocked on his saliva and Wonwoo hurried to pat his back.

The prince smiled at them and started walking slower so he could catch up with Junhui, leaving the two alone for a little longer. The knight eyed him weirdly as he approached him.

"I thought you didn't like my company, yet here you are again..." he spoke softly.

"I don't like your company, but these two like each other's company." Minghao gestured at the couple in front of them.

"Aha, alright then." Junhui grinned and took a few smaller steps, distancing himself from the prince once again.

Minghao closed his eyes, trying to compose himself. The nerve of that knight.

"You won't be able to guard them properly from back there." he called with fake sweetness

"I don't want to cause you nausea by being besides you my prince." Junhui said sympathetically.

"I'm sure you don't care about me enough for that to worry you." Minghao replied through gritted teeth.

“Oh, but how could you ever say that?” Junhui pretended to be shocked.

Minghao sighed. The fact was that as long as Mingyu was with Wonwoo, Junhui was going to be a part of his life whether he liked it or not. Resigning himself to his fate, he slowed down his steps again, coming next to Junhui once more. When their eyes met, the prince gave him an exaggerated, close-lipped smile.

Junhui looked at him skeptically before smiling back too.

"You know... I don't like to force people into anything. I know that you don't like me so that's why I'm trying to relieve you from my presence."

"We both know that as long as these two are together that is not possible. So I'm afraid that you have to walk with me." Minghao said seriously. "Be a good knight and accompany _your prince_.”

"Alright then, I will." Junhui said, voice lower than before.

They didn't have to walk together too much though. In a couple of minutes, they reached the alley and started slowly entering the castle again. Minghao made four attempts before he succeeded in climbing up the rope. Mingyu laughed at him, but Wonwoo stopped him, reminding him of his first time. Mingyu pouted.

Minghao slid down much more confidently than before. He was the first one to land on the storage’s roof, the other three behind him to keep an eye on him.

The last one to reach the ground was Wonwoo. He took a few moments more than necessary to start climbing down, and Minghao glanced at Junhui in concern. He was their guard after all, he should have noticed if something was wrong. As expected, when Mingyu reached to steady Wonwoo after he slid down, Wonwoo was tense.

"I swear I saw something moving before I came down." he said before anyone could question him.

"What do you mean? What did you see?" Junhui asked alarmed.

"I don't know. At the edge of the walls to our right, after the garden. It was very brief." Wonwoo lowered his head.

Minghao could see in Mingyu's eyes how much he wanted to hug him then, but all of them knew that he couldn't anymore, not inside the castle grounds.

"What do we do hyung?" Mingyu asked Junhui instead.

"We return like normal, we don't have another choice. The guards will be here soon." Junhui said. He tried to seem composed in front of them, but the worry was leaking out of him like a waterfall. "I will walk first, so even if there is someone there, I will be the one who sees them, okay?" he said and started walking towards the garden.

Minghao patted Wonwoo's shoulder comfortingly. It looked like the knight needed it.

"It seems I don't bring you guys much luck." he said sadly.

"It's not your fault your highness..." Wonwoo spoke, his voice shaky.

They remained quiet for a few moments, hiding in the shadows to the best of their ability as they waited for the other’s return. Minghao took a deep breath and closed his eyes. They couldn’t get caught now. The others would be in so much more trouble if the higher ups found Minghao with them than if they had been alone.

"The coast is clear!" Junhui whisper-shouted, and Minghao exhaled. Maybe it had been a false alarm then. He could trust Junhui in at least keeping his friends’ well-being in priority.

The three followed him back to their meeting point, still glancing around for any sudden moves.

"We have to separate here. Minghao and I are going back to the palace. Will you be alright?" Mingyu asked, and Minghao had never seen him making worried puppy eyes at anyone before Wonwoo.

"We will, don't worry." Wonwoo tried to reassure him.

"Let's go then." Minghao urged Mingyu, who just couldn't take his eyes off his boyfriend. "It was a pleasure meeting you." he said, not adding Wonwoo's name in the end like he had wanted to do in order to spite the other knight. If there was a time to be polite to Junhui, that was it.

The walk back to Mingyu's room was surprisingly silent. Minghao fully expected to be bombarded with questions after his first time joining Mingyu's escapades, but the footman just walked quietly with pursed lips.

Once safely inside the footman's room, Minghao took the initiative.

"Wonwoo seemed nice." he said, hoping to trigger the other's excitement into returning.

It worked, of course.

"He truly is." Mingyu said with a sweet smile. "But I've been meaning to ask... how are you feeling?”

"Good." Minghao replied indifferently. "This was not about me. Did _you_ have fun?"

"I'm always having fun when we go out. But you were the one who stayed with someone you dislike. So tell me truthfully, did you pass your time happily?" Mingyu asked pointedly.

Minghao chuckled. "Well Junhui sure is... interesting. He is seriously annoying, but I willingly stayed back with him while we were walking back to the castle, didn't I? Don't worry about me." he ruffled Mingyu’s hair.

"And are you sure you approve of Wonwoo...? You did say that he was better than Junhui hyung, but did you honestly mean it?"

Ah, there it was. Minghao had been expecting this question from the moment he had learned that he was going to meet Wonwoo.

"Don't take this the wrong way but when I first found out you were together I had absolutely no idea what you saw in him that made you overlook the fact that he was a man. I think today I saw a few reasons. He is... endearing, I guess?" he laughed.

Mingyu gapped at his friend's reply. He quickly recovered from his shock though and scooped Minghao in bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you much. You don't know how much it means coming from you." he sighed happily.

"I also had my doubts about the way he was treating you. You can be pretty innocent sometimes, you know? I didn't want him to take advantage of you. Well," Minghao smiled at ceiling. "turns out he is a lot nicer to you than I have ever been. You don’t need to worry, all the dislike I had prepared for today went to Junhui." he joked.

Mingyu inhaled sharply, probably remembering of the “revenge” Minghao had mentioned before.

"Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid. Did you hurt him? “ he questioned strictly.

“I didn’t, relax.” a small pause. “Well actually…”

"I knew it!" Mingyu screeched in horror. "What did you do? I thought you said you had a nice time with him!"

"Oh I had fun alright." the prince said evilly. "Anyway, I told you I got my revenge in order to forgive him. Let's just drop that subject now. Junhui still confuses me. There are some parts of him... I don't know." he shook his head.

"You will learn about him more if you decide to hang out with us more often." Mingyu grinned happily.

"Is that an invitation?" Minghao felt relief that his friend still wanted him to hang out with his new friends.

"Of course it is! Even though you were always welcome, even without it." the footman replied sweetly.

Minghao hugged him. It was unusual for him to initiate hugs, but he felt a sudden appreciation for his childhood friend. Mingyu had not lied. He still cared about him, even if he had Wonwoo now.

"I missed you Mingyu. Without you and Chan... I have nothing." he whispered, in a rare show of vulnerability.

"We will always be by your side Minghao. Whatever happens, we will always be there for you." Mingyu answered, tightening his hold.

Minghao remained in his friend's embrace for a while. All this was happening because of Junhui and his stupid words. Minghao wasn't just some heartless brat. He too was trying his best to be a good friend, a good prince, a good everything. It maybe took a few days, but he had ultimately understood Mingyu's point of view for his relationship, hadn't he? He hadn't just stayed rooted in his assumptions. _Right?_

He knew he could be brash sometimes, his pride getting in his way, but that wasn’t all there was of him. Junhui had made assumption about Minghao as much as the prince had for him. It was hopeless trying to fix their first impressions now. They had started on the wrongest of wrong foots, and a good foot might not even exist in their case.

But Mingyu wasn’t like that. Mingyu _knew_ him. He understood what Minghao was thinking, he knew he cared. Minghao buried his face into Mingyu's neck, trying to make his insecurities disappear.

The footman didn't question the sudden outburst of affection . He just stayed there hugging his best friend rocking them back and forth. Those situations were rare, if not unreal. So Mingyu grasped the chance to have some alone time with his emotional friend and stayed there.

"I love you Mingyu, you know? Not just as a footman or an employee or whatever stupid titles we both have. Just... You. You're my best friend." Minghao mumbled.

Mingyu hummed. "I love you too Minghao. And don't worry, you're one of the most genuine people I have ever met." he whispered on his friends head.

"I'm trying. I really am." the prince said. "And I know you are too. I hope nothing goes wrong for you and Wonwoo."

"I hope that too." Mingyu said, smiling.

Minghao seriously contemplated sleeping here with Mingyu. That night had been hard on him, both physically (that blasted wall) and emotionally (that blasted Junhui).

He had prepared himself to meet his best friend's boyfriend, to get an insight on how a relationship like that worked. He knew Junhui would have been there of course, but he hadn't thought much of him. When he had said that it was nice to talk without being worried about hurting the other person's feelings for once, he hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected a knight's words to circle around his head when he was at his lowest tolerance levels.

Was Junhui feeling the same now? Minghao had said hurtful things as well. The knight had been through so much, maybe Minghao could have been nicer with him. Maybe he should be nicer from now on too. Junhui had as much of a broken heart as all of them.

And the saddest part was that he didn't talk to anyone, just like Minghao himself. It felt awful to keep your troubles bottled up, to not be able to talk about them. _Maybe we can talk to each other..._ the random thought came to Minghao's mind, only for his logic to dismiss it immediately.

At least he had Mingyu. He had a person to hold him through his emotional downs, instead of being alone and afraid. Mingyu had such a big heart, he had so much to give. It stung that Minghao had to share him with Wonwoo now.

 _Who am I kidding, Wonwoo is the one sharing him with me,_ he thought, but he couldn’t hate Wonwoo for it.

Wonwoo seemed nice, quiet. He was a good match for Mingyu. From what the footman had explained, their relationship had been sparkling from the beginning. It must have been amazing to find someone that understood him like Mingyu said these two understood each other, someone to help him improve without hurting his feelings. Minghao went from thinking Mingyu was crazy for getting together with another man to being amazed by how lucky his friend was to experience such a connection.

And Mingyu wanted to get him into the dynamics of these new relationships of his. He wanted to squeeze him between his boyfriend and his new friend. Would Minghao ever be able to fit in?

He felt like he had much to learn from the following months he would spend with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juuuunhaooo!!  
> Finally some interaction between them! Took them long enough, don't you think? 😂😝
> 
> Anyways, that was it for today guys! I hoped you liked this Saturday's chapter, and I'll see you on the next update.
> 
> As always we are looking forward to your opinion in the comments (seriously we LOVE hearing what you have to say)!
> 
> So, until the next update: take care, have fun and stay healthy.
> 
> -SkWh


	10. It's just a cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys~~~
> 
> I'm back with the next chapter of our lovely fan fic. This one though is more like a small side character- filler.  
> There is a reason for it, so don't be disappointed. 
> 
> I won't talk much since I don't have to give any specific clarifications.  
> So without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

That night was just the beginning of Minghao's outings. As the nights passed, he gradually started getting along better with Wonwoo. He even made progress in his relationship with Junhui. Though they were still bickering, they were more cautious with each other’s feelings. Mingyu and Minghao had returned to their normal selves after that night as well, their bond becoming even stronger. Everything was going smoothly and their lives continued progressing normally.

It was a sunny morning in March that a loud voice echoed in the palace's hallway.

"Channie! Soonie hyung! We're here!" Seungkwan’s screeching, bounced on the walls of the castle, easily reaching the kitchen where Chan and Soonyoung sat.

"Seungkwan! In the kitchen!" the steward's voice boomed just as loudly.

Not even a minute later, the royal clothier emerged from the door, a tall figure following behind him.

"Hyung! You came!" Chan shouted happily when his eyes fell behind Seungkwan. He stood up, quickly running to the clothier's companion, enveloping him in a tight hug.

"Channie! Oh my God you've grown even more! Stop aging already!" the man said with a high-pitched voice.

"Seokmin!" Soonyoung yelled from his seat on the counter.

"Soonyoung!" the tall man yelled back.

"Seungkwan!" the steward shrieked again.

"Soonyoung!" the clothier screamed as well.

"Seokmin!" Soonyoung continued.

"Seokjin." the cook deadpanned from across the room and all eyes fell on him. "Don't look at me like that you idiots. Stop yelling! I'm trying to cook here." Seokjin scolded, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Chan giggled and brought everyone's attention back to the emotional reunion.

"Seriously though Channie, was your jawline always this refined? You almost look more handsome than me now." Seokmin gaped, looking down at the valet.

"Of course I'm handsome hyung. It runs in the family. You know that better than me." Chan laughed.

"Oh my God that was so smooth? I missed you little brother." Seokmin hugged the valet again "And I missed my almost-big-brother as well." he smiled back at Soonyoung.

Soonyoung let out a loud gasp and run towards his friend crushing him in another hug. "I missed you too!" he said pouting cutely.

"Hyung is so busy nowadays, even _I_ barely get to talk to him." Chan sighed, patting Soonyoung's back.

"Oh don't you talk to me about busy!" Seungkwan huffed joining the hug.

"Tell us, _oh_ great clothier, how are your preparations for prince Samuel's wedding going?" Soonyoung teased, making Chan and Seokmin snicker.

"Disgustingly perfect, like every ceremony should be." Seungkwan replied. "I can't wait for it to be over. I swear my hair is going grey from the stress. I didn't even have time to lighten them! Look at those roots!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Oh my God what a catastrophe. Such a tragic thing.” the royal chef said dramatically, making everyone in the room snicker.

The four friends walked further inside, sitting comfortably at the table next to Seokjin’s counter.

"You don't get to talk hyung, I've seen you in the bathrooms during morning. You spend more time styling you hair than showering." Soonyoung teased the chef.

"Of course I do, my hair have to complement my handsome face. What's your excuse for walking out of bed and straight to your office looking like that?" Seokjin replied, as he set four glasses of water in front of them.

"Ah hyung, don't even start with Soonyoung's hyung style." Seungkwan huffed in exasperation. "I swear to all the higher powers that exist... I will vandalize your closet one day, and I will burn each and every one of your rags." he threatened.

"Leave my rags alone. Seokmin tell him my clothes are fine." Soonyoung pouted and leaned his head on Seokmin's shoulder.

"Your clothes are fine hyung. Your hair on the other hand... maybe you should go with Kwannie and lighten them together." Seokmin patted the steward on the head sympathetically.

"I can't believe this betrayal. You've been in the castle for what, five minutes? Say something nice to me." Soonyoung slapped his arm.

"Emm I love you?" Seokmin tried.

Soonyoung's face lit up. "See that wasn't so hard!" he said and grabbed the other’s head, hugging him tightly.

Chan laughed at his hyung and his brother. It really had been a long time since Seokmin had visited. His older brother was a musician, a famous one at that. Initially, he was the one supposed to be groomed to be the prince's valet, but he was a special child. Their parents had noticed his affinity for music ever since he had begun talking. He was born with a melodious voice, an innate understanding of harmonies and everyone thought it would be a pity to waste such talent. Nowadays, Seokmin travelled around the world, performing for villagers and kings alike, his love for music driving him anywhere that he was wanted.

Seungkwan sighed beside Chan as watched the other two hitting each other playfully.

"Is something wrong, Seungkwan hyung?" the valet asked.

"Nope, everything is fine young one. It's just that work is piling up and well... we grow up fast don't we?" the clothier said solemnly.

"You're only 19 years old you don't have the right to speak about aging." Seokjin scolded Seungkwan. "Look at me, I’m turning 30 in two years! And I'm still cooking for you! You don't see me complaining though, do you?" the chef chastised.

"You're literally complaining right now hyung." Seungkwan deadpanned.

Seokjin threw a tired glare at the clothier as he returned to his stove to finish up the lunch.

"So hyung, how is work? Have you been to any new places?" Chan asked his brother.

"Yes, I crossed China and travelled all the way to some northern lands! There was a particular duchess up there who had requested me for her wedding. She said she has been hearing about me most of her life and she wanted to meet me once before she got tied down to a man. She was barely fifteen years old." Seokmin narrated.

Chan could hear his brother talk all day about his travels. He always had something interesting to tell them.

"Weddings are fun!" the valet exclaimed happily.

"No they aren't." Seungkwan deadpanned, sipping his water. “They are tiring and stressful."

"Well this wedding was kind of sad. It was clear that there wasn't any kind of love involved between the couple, not even friendship." Seokmin continued. "Has prince Samuel met the girl he is marrying yet?" he asked Seungkwan.

"They have seen each other once, when the engagement ceremony happened two and a half years ago remember? They seemed fine. She was really cute and Samuel was treating her like a real gentleman." the clothier responded.

"I hope it works well between them. You have been organizing ceremonies for that couple for so many years now, haven't you?" Seokmin snickered at Seungkwan.

Seungkwan shot him a glare.

"He has, but every one of them is better than the last. I'm not surprised they keep picking him. The engagement was so beautiful I have to say. I'm sure that the actual wedding will be extraordinary." Soonyoung approved, nodding his head lightly.

His eyes were focused on the counter. It seemed like memories were flashing in the steward's mind. Chan discreetly laid a hand on the steward's thigh, not wanting to draw any attention to him.

"You know what has been missing from all those ceremonies? Your ugly voice." Seungkwan said to Seokmin. "You could go to the ends of the world to sing to a street child, but you still refuse to grace my beautiful ceremonies with your presence. Even Soonyoung hyung disappeared in the middle of that engagement feast." he complained.

"Keep insulting my voice and I won't set foot on your ceremonies as long as I live." Seokmin answered, his smile still on his lips.

Soonyoung on the other hand, stiffened at the mention of his absence from that night. Chan arched an eyebrow at him, though the steward didn’t acknowledge him.

"I don't need you, peasant." Seungkwan stuck his tongue out. "Soonyoung hyung will you sing for me?" he asked with a sweet smile.

The steward’s head shot up at the mention of his name. "I would love to my sweet Kwannie, but I don't want to ruin your ceremony.” he said. “Plus, I don't have money to pay the windows I will inevitably break." Soonyoung laughed.

"Aw, it's okay hyung, it's the thought that counts.” Seungkwan waved him off lightly. “I'll tell you what. You have a day off today, yes?" Seungkwan asked.

"I do." the steward answered.

"How about you come to my home and I'll fix our hair?" the clothier proposed.

"That's a really good idea!" Chan piped up.

"I don't know Kwannie... What if something happens and I’m needed here?" Soonyoung scathed his head.

"Oh come on hyung, go with Seungkwan. You deserve a break." Chan said sweetly, patting Soonyoung on his thigh.

"Don't worry about me either, I'm staying for a week, I will come visit again." Seokmin smiled at him.

Soonyoung sighed in defeat. "Alright then let's do it." he nodded with a lopsided grin.

"Cheer up hyung!" Chan encouraged him as he stood up, taking the glasses of water and bringing them to the sink.

“He will be fine. He will be under my care after all.” Seungkwan spoke, flipping back his fringe.

Before soon, the two waved them goodbye. As soon as the door closed behind them, his brother left a long sigh, slumping his shoulders forward. Chan eyed him a little skeptically. Seokmin seemed a little concerned about something.

"What are you thinking?" Chan asked him, returning back to his seat.

"Soonyoung hyung. What's wrong with him?" the other asked.

"You've noticed it as well. That's not good..." Chan rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"What is that supposed to mean? What has happened all this time I was away? Are _you_ okay?" Seokmin started rambling, forehead creasing with worry.

"Me? I'm perfectly fine. Soonyoung hyung on the other hand has become miserable for some reason.” Chan admitted, heaving a long sigh.

“Did something happen? Have you seen anything?” his brother asked again, fully turning in his seat.

“I believed it all started after the famous engagement ceremony." Chan whispered thoughtfully.

"What? That was like, over two years ago Chan. He looked okay all those previous times I saw him." Seokmin said but Chan didn't reply.

The change in Soonyoung’s behaviour wasn’t something that anyone could have noticed. Chan was one of the servants that were closer to him, so he could easily pinpoint the beginning of a fall. That one though seemed endless, becoming worse as the time passed. And the valet had a pretty good assumption of what caused it. General Jihoon.

Chan wasn’t an idiot. Of course he had noticed the shifting of their relationship. Two years ago, Soonyoung eyes glinted with joy only in the merely mention of Jihoon’s name. Now, whenever he did as much as hear his voice, he stiffened up. Not to mention that he has even stopped referring to him. It’s like they were never friends.

Seokmin’s hand on his knees brought Chan back to reality. "You know I care about you all a lot, right? I already feel guilty I left you here. If there is anything I can do..." he trailed off.

"Soonyoung hyung and Jihoon have stop talking." Chan dropped the bomb.

Silence followed.

"What?" was Seokmin's intelligent answer. "No way."

“Do you think I would joke about something like that?”

"I... I don't know? How is it possible for those two to stop talking like that? When Seungkwan and I were younger we literally begged Soonyoung to leave Jihoon's side and play with us. What happened?" the musician asked shocked.

"Nobody knows. They just started drifting apart until they reached the point of not talking at all. And that's been happening for two years now." the valet responded.

"...Why did nobody tell me that?" Seokmin voiced in despair. "I'm gone for a few months and you're already falling apart. Are you sure you're okay Channie? Prince Minghao? Mingyu? Jungkook? Hoseok? Everyone?" Seokmin started listing the people he knew from the castle, even if he were never close friends with them.

Chan laughed at his brother’s concerned face. "Everyone is fine don't worry. Well except Jihoon and Soonyoung hyung..." the valet gave a tight smile. "Oh, prince Minghao is sick too. Nothing serious just a cold.”

"He is sick? It's that damn spring weather, one moment it's hot the other it's raining. Please wish him well from me." Seokmin said and stretched his arms behind his back. "Enough about other people though. Let's take a walk little brother, I missed you." he suggested, getting out of his seat.

Chan smiled widely and stood up as well. "Let's go see if Hoseok hyung is at the stables. He would love to see you again." Chan smiled as they both exited the kitchen, waving bye at Seokjin.

~*~

Mingyu walked quickly, with a smile on his face. It was not often he was called to cover for Chan's days off. Especially when Minghao was sick and expecting his doctor. He opened the door without bothering to knock and let out an 'aww' at the sight before him.

The prince was curled up on the bed of his private room, a fluffy wet towel damped on top his head. He was enveloped in a winter woolen blanket, even though it was spring, and he was tightly clutching a pillow to his chest.

Cushions of multiple sizes were surrounding him, some of them supporting his back and helping him be comfortable in a sitting position. There was a silver cup full of water on the nightstand next to his bed, along with a steaming bowl of chicken broth.

But the detail that made the sight exceptionally adorable was the prince himself. Minghao's sick pout was an amazing sight in Mingyu's opinion.

"Wonwoo wishes you to get well soon.” he stated, shuffling inside the room. “Junhui on the other hand, wishes you to name him your inheritor after you pass away." he continued with his greeting.

Minghao coughed, a horrible wheezing sound tangling up in his throat, preventing him from breathing properly.

"Junhui can throw himself off a cliff, thank you very much." Minghao's pout deepened around his words.

Mingyu chuckled. The bickering between his two friends was slowly staring to be the normal With a small smile, he sat down on the bed and handed Minghao his water.

"Here drink this. Water keeps you hydrated." he said intelligently.

"I don't want to be hydrated, I want to get better." the prince whined eyeing the liquid in the silver cup.

"Being hydrated means you are healthy. Come on, you big baby, drink it." Mingyu tapped Minghao's scrunched nose.

Minghao groaned annoyed, but he drank the water anyway.

"Mingyu~ I'm sick~ And bored~ Do something~" he whined again, slapping Mingyu's forearm to get his attention.

Mingyu took the small towel, wrapping it around the prince’s face and squeezing his cheeks. He giggled at the choked groan his friend left.

"Your doctor will be here soon, there is no time for games." Mingyu said, letting go of his Minghao’s face.

As a cue to Mingyu's words, a soft knock was heard from the door. The footman stood up and opened it, revealing a tall lean figure behind it.

"See? What did I tell you? Good evening doctor Hong." Mingyu bowed at the royal doctor.

"Good evening." came the calm reply from the man standing at the door.

Doctor Hong Jisoo's voice was soft and melodious. That was a great trait for his job, as it always put the people around him at ease.

"Good evening doctor." Minghao said as well, trying to fix his hair.

"What do we have here? Your highness, how are you feeling?" doctor Hong asked as he entered the room. He approached the prince's bed, sitting on a chair beside it.

"I'm mostly okay." Minghao said calmly, much different to his previous whining when he was alone with Mingyu. "My nose is running, and I have a sore throat, the usual I presume. Yesterday I had a fever. Today too, I think." he gave as many details as he could, informing the doctor about his state.

Doctor Hong gently placed the back of his hand on the prince’s forehead, humming lightly.

"It's not very high, don't worry your highness." he said and moved his hand on Minghao's neck, feeling for his tonsils. "They are a bit swollen..." he mumbled.

Mingyu looked worried. "What is swollen?" he asked, from the foot of the bed.

"His tonsils. But it's not something we have to worry about." Doctor Hong said and opened his leather bag, taking out a pouch. "These are medical herbs. You will boil them in hot water, add a small spoon of honey and you will drink them. Three cups every day after each meal. It will keep you warm and hydrated. Plus, they have healing properties." he explained and gave Mingyu the brown pouch.

"Hydrated, huh?" Mingyu gave a pointed look to Minghao, who just rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, doctor." the prince said, with a small bow of his head.

"Don't mention it your highness. I'm just doing my job.” Doctor Hong brushed him off gently. “Though I can't help but wonder how you caught a cold with this weather." he arched a questioning eyebrow.

"I really wonder how." Minghao subtly glared at Mingyu. "It wasn't like I was out in the cold air in the middle of the night." he murmured.

"Anyway, if your highness does as I say, you will be back on your feet in less than three days." Doctor Hong smiled and stood back up. With a last glance towards the prince he walked out the room, leaving the two friends alone.

The moment the door was closed, Mingyu slapped Minghao's arm.

"Nobody forced you to come." he said, sticking his tongue out.

"But it's your fault I'm like this." Minghao argued. "I'm here all day by myself doing nothing. It's boring!" he said, the pout appearing back on his lips.

"Aw does the poor prince-y want company?" Mingyu said teasingly.

Suddenly an idea popped inside his head. How hard would it be for two knights to sneak inside the prince's private chamber?

Minghao still kept glaring at him. "I want you to take responsibility for what you've done to me." he responded, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Do you want me to stay here until we both get bored and start hating each other?" Mingyu said, crossing his arms as well, mirroring his friend.

"No…" Minghao sighed. "I think I need some rest. I will take a nap. You can come back again later, okay?" he said, dismissing his friend as he buried himself further inside the blankets.

"As your highness wishes." Mingyu exaggeratedly bowed. "I'm bringing you another cup of water though." he said as he walked towards the door.

Minghao groaned and buried his face in his pillow. No amount of water would make that bitter lonely feeling go away though.

~*~

A knock was heard on the door and Jihoon eyed it curiously. He hadn't asked for anyone, so the noise was unexpected. He groaned displeased, putting away one more paper.

"Come in." he said grumpily, dipping his fountain in its ink bottle.

"Hyung? Hello?" a brown-haired man shyly greeted him.

Another unexpected thing.

"Seokmin? Is this you?" the general asked surprised.

"I came back to Gisa for a while, and I wanted to visit you! If you have time of course." the musician said shyly.

The general sighed. "I will make some for you." he said, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Thank you!" Seokmin smiled, fully entering the office. He closed the door behind him, shuffling towards a chair opposite the general. “So how have you been?” he asked, crossing his legs.

"Buzzy. As always." the general answered monotonously. "You?"

"I'm great myself! I visited a lot of places. Have you ever been to the north?" the musician asked.

"No. I don't have time to travel. I have a lot of work here." Jihoon sighed again, leaning back on his chair.

"You do seem awfully busy. Do you even have time for your friends anymore?" Seokmin said light-heartedly.

"I don't have friends." Jihoon said sharply.

"Aw come on, a lot of people like you. I'm here, am I not?" Seokmin replied sympathetically.

Jihoon groaned. "Yeah after what, four months?" the general stated, signing another paper that was sitting in front of him.

"Hey. I thought everything was alright before I left. But are you really okay?" Seokmin asked, getting to his reason for visiting quickly. Jihoon wasn't one for small talk after all.

"When am I not alright Seokmin? As long as I have my job, I'm fine. A little tired, but fine." Jihoon answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"I have been talking to Chan. He told me about Soonyoung hyung." he said and waited for the general's reaction.

Jihoon gave him a glare. That little brat Chan. "What about him?" the general asked neutrally.

"...I understand that you might not want to talk about it." Seokmin chose his words carefully. "Hyung has everyone else's support all day, he is social like that. I think... you have it harder. So all I'm saying is that I'm here for you, if you ever need it." Seokmin voiced gently.

Jihoon's gaze was focused on his documents. Why did everyone think that he wasn't fine? First Seungkwan, then Seokjin and now even _Seokmin_. And what was that about Soonyoung needing support from his friends? Soonyoung was perfectly fine. He didn't care about Jihoon or their lost friendship. He laughed and smiled like always, while _he_ was left alone. But Jihoon had fought the bitterness that came from it, and now he kept telling himself he was doing good.

"I'll keep it in my mind, though I don't know why you assume that something is wrong." he replied.

"You just said you had no friends. That doesn't sound good." Seokmin argued.

"I don't have them because I'm a busy man, that needs to be in his office twenty four hours every day of the week. I don't have time for anything else." he stubbornly insisted.

"There no such thing as _'I don't have time'_ , there is only poor time management." Seokmin said unconvinced, crossing his hand on his chest.

"Seokmin don't _you_ tell me about poor time management. You see your brother every… I don't know how long. When you have a job it’s inevitable." Jihoon frowned.

"Hey, that's low. You know how much I miss Chan." Seokmin said, the corners of his lips dropping.

No, that was bad. Jihoon didn’t want to make Seokmin feel guilty now that he had come to visit him after so long. He wasn’t that terrible of a person.

"I didn't mean it that way. It's just that our jobs require all of our time. We can't afford to slack off." he explained. "I know you love Chan. We all do. He is too adorable not to, even for me." he admitted.

"So why don't you try talking to him then? He is great company, even if he doesn't look it sometimes." Seokmin suggested.

"As I said, I'm busy."

"Okay, I'm changing the subject." Seokmin sighed. "Do you want to hear about northern weddings?"

Jihoon eyed the musician weirdly. Here Seokmin was, after entire _months,_ trying to convince Jihoon that he needed friends. If only he knew what had _actually_ happened to his last one. Perhaps Seokmin wasn’t here for the majority of the time, but when he was, it was like a breath of fresh air.

"Go ahead." he grinned, leaving the gate open for Seokmin to start babbling about what he saw in that country far away.

~*~

It was a quiet evening at the palace. With both Soonyoung and Chan having days off and the prince bedridden, the halls were mostly quiet.

Seokmin visited as many people as he could, including Minghao. They were never that close, but Minghao still appreciated it. The musician was always fun to be around. Before he retreated to his house, he told Chan to keep an eye on Jihoon if possible. The general might need help soon. The valet nodded in understanding and hugged his brother goodnight, promising to see him tomorrow again.

Chan himself visited Minghao as well, being able to drink tea with him for once instead of just serving him. It was a pleasant change. The prince kept whining all the way during their conversation about the strange taste of the so-called medical herbs. Finally, when Minghao drifted off to a nap, the valet covered him with his blankets and quietly left the room.

Minghao didn't remain asleep for long though. His naps were short, naturally interrupted by coughs and the cold sweat, running down his spine. Which made him agitated and annoyed, keeping him awake even if his body begged him for some rest.

It had felt like the hundredth time that Minghao had forced his eyes open. The dark had fall outside now, covering everything in its dark veil, as he was lying on his bed; glaring at the ceiling and feeling miserable.

Suddenly, a creek echoed inside the room, as the door opened. Minghao perked up at the whispers that followed.

"Be quiet, they will hear us!” came Mingyu's characteristic voice.

What was going on?

"Mingyu?" the prince asked leaning himself on his elbows.

"Surprise~~" another familiar, annoying voice sounded, clearly ignoring Mingyu's request to be silent.

Minghao groaned and fell back on his bed, covering his head with a pillow.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Minghao whined, his voice muffled.

Footsteps were heard getting closer and the door closed silently again.

"I brought you water!" Mingyu said and Minghao peeked his tired eyes from under the pillow.

"Why?" he whined, blinking rapidly to adjust his vision at the three figures that were standing in front of him.

"Because it is very important to keep yourself hydrated." Junhui snickered at the poor state Minghao was in.

Wonwoo was also there, standing slightly behind Mingyu.

"Hi Wonwoo." Minghao groaned. "Junhui." he added as an afterthought.

"Hello your highness." Wonwoo said and both knights bowed.

"What are you doing here?" Minghao asked looking at Mingyu.

"You said you were feeling lonely and bored." Mingyu shrugged. "I brought entertainment."

"You look terrible my prince." Junhui smiled, shuffling closer to the bed.

"Why are _you_ here Junhui?" Minghao bit back at the Chinese in his native language.

"I'm here to make sure that you will pass me your inheritance without any complication." the knight grinned.

"Maybe I will consider leaving you my books to finally get yourself educated." Minghao continued the bickering.

"Yah, stop that! Talk in a language we can all understand!" Mingyu disapproved, sitting on the bottom of Minghao's bed.

Minghao pouted at his friend. "Don't shout at me!" he whined, threading his black hair out of his eyes.

Junhui laughed at the pout on Minghao's lips. "You should be sick more often my prince. You look cuter." he commented.

Before Minghao could retort, Wonwoo let out a sudden cough, making everyone turn to look at him.

"Don't tell me you're getting sick as well." Junhui arched a horrified eyebrow.

"No, I'm fine I just breathed strangely." the knight put his hands up in defense.

"Come sit down, love." Mingyu patted the bed with a soft smile.

Wonwoo complied with a shy nod. He sat carefully at the edge of the bed his hands wrapped on top of his lap.

"So how you've been?" Mingyu asked his friend.

"I'm trying to have more than two hours of sleep at the time." Minghao said. "I think my fever is up again." he pouted.

"May I?" Wonwoo said and reached his hand out to touch Minghao's forehead.

Wonwoo's hands were extremely cold, Minghao noticed. The palm above his eyes felt so good for his burning head. Minghao groaned and grabbed Wonwoo’s hand, pressing it tighter against him.

"Why are your hands so cold?" he asked and Wonwoo laughed lightly.

He softly pressed his other palm on the prince's cheek to cool him down. "I used to get sick a lot when I was younger. My hands and feet are the first two parts on my body that get gold when the winter comes." he answered.

Minghao leaned against his hands, closing his eyes with a deep sigh. "Shouldn't you stay away from me then? If you get sick so easily?" Minghao mumbled but held on to both of the knight's hands.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Wonwoo said, scooting a little closer so Minghao could lean back against the headboard.

"Don't fall asleep on us my prince, after all the trouble we went through to get in here." Junhui hissed in Chinese again and Minghao opened his eyes to glare at him.

"I didn't ask _you_ to come." the prince bit back in the same language. "You are free to go at any minute." he added and moved his hand dismissively.

Junhui rolled his eyes.

Wonwoo saw the gesture and tried to move back as well, but Minghao kindly grabbed his hand again.

"Not you, please?" he said, lower lip coming out in a slight pout, and Wonwoo complied.

"You're so mean my prince, after I broke so many rules just to see you." Junhui changed back to Korean, making Mingyu glare at Minghao.

"What did you say to him? I told you to be polite." he scolded.

Minghao looked at him furiously.

"He started it and he's trying to make me look bad!" his words were interrupted by a cough and Wonwoo patted him on his back comfortingly.

"On second thought, you can both leave, I just want Wonwoo hyung here." the prince said scooting closer to the knight's cold hands.

Wonwoo stiffened a little but he kept his hands on the prince's cheeks.

"See, I told you he was mean." Junhui told the footman, pointing an accusing finger towards the prince.

"Hey, that's unfair, you know." Mingyu pouted.

"Don't worry Mingyu, I'm sure it's just the fever talking. Not that he is much better the rest of the time." Junhui said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I'm ignoring you." Minghao said and closed his eyes.

"Hey." Junhui exclaimed suddenly. "If you start calling Wonwoo 'hyung' now, then call me 'hyung' too." he said to the prince sweetly.

"Not even on my dying breath." Minghao hissed and continued enjoying the knight's cold palms.

Wonwoo chuckled. "Prince Minghao, you should have seen Mingyu when I first told him he can call me hyung." he spoke, a teasing tone obvious in his voice.

"Woah, you told me that you won't say anything to anyone about our first meeting!" Mingyu whined.

"Oh please tell." Junhui said clapping his hands as he sat in front of Wonwoo's feet on the floor.

"He was adorable. He stammered three times over that one syllable. He was blushing too, it was very cute." Wonwoo said lovingly and Junhui fake gagged.

"That's not the answer I was expecting." he said, cringing all the way to his toes.

"Clearly. You have no idea what it means to be cute." Minghao deadpanned.

Mingyu came behind Wonwoo and enveloped him in a bear hug, snatching his hands away from Minghao's head. The prince whined loudly.

"Shut up, that's _my_ lover. Go get your own." Mingyu said burying his face into Wonwoo's hair.

"Why search when I have one here in front of me." Minghao joked earning an evil glare from his friend. "Wonwoo can share, right?" he continued and looked at the knight with cute eyes.

"Polyamory is a thing, you know." Junhui said nonchalantly and all three turned to stare at him.

"Junhui hyung." Mingyu whined.

"And what do _you_ know about relationships exactly?" Minghao asked arching an eyebrow.

"More than our dear prince, apparently." Junhui said, his usual evil grin on full display.

"Don't worry Mingyu, I only want you." Wonwoo whispered and Mingyu kissed his cheek.

"You do, huh?" the footman questioned amused.

"So much time I spend with those two. I feel like an expert in relationships. I got used to them." Junhui replied, jumping again to their previous topic.

"I hope I get used to it too." Minghao murmured and Junhui looked at him sympathetically for once.

"You will. Don’t worry." he said.

"Anyway," Minghao tried to get the conversation going again. "How did you even get here in the middle of the night?" he asked.

"The same way we always get out. We snuck in.” Mingyu answered almost proudly.

"It became a habit." Junhui added, rolling his eyes.

"We're kind of like experts now." Wonwoo said smiling and Minghao laughed.

"Of all the skills you could have picked up from knights Mingyu, you chose the most illegal." he joked, clapping in fake amusement.

"And to think that Wonwoo is the last person that would choose to break a rule willingly. Mingyu has been an equally bad influence.” Junhui pointed out. “Ah, the power of romance. " he sighed, flattering his eyelashes.

"I've also learned to handle a sword." Mingyu said with excitement, puffing his chest.

"Short of." Wonwoo added quietly.

Minghao and Junhui laughed in sync.

"You chose to teach him swordsmanship? I marvel at your patience." Minghao said, patting Wonwoo's shoulder sympathetically.

"If anyone ever attacks us, I am letting you die." Mingyu huffed turning his face away from his friend.

The prince arched an eyebrow. "The betrayal." he said theatrically and placed the back of his hand on his forehead, sighing dramatically.

"Don't worry I will protect you." Junhui said standing up and taking a comical battle position.

"Bring it hyung!" Mingyu stood opposite of the knight.

Minghao swallowed his comment about not wanting protection from the Chinese knight of all people, choosing instead to laugh. He decided to side with Junhui for once.

"Kick his ass _my loyal knight._ ” he said in Chinese, not resisting the minor irony.

"As you wish my prince." Junhui punctuated and made a step forward towards Mingyu.

Wonwoo leaned back, closer to Minghao to watch the show. The footman attacked first. The only advantage he had over Junhui was his height, so he literally tried to jump on top of him.

Junhui though was quicker. He took a step sideways and Mingyu fell on the floor with a big thud.

"Is that all you've got?" Junhui snickered, brushing the non-existing dust off his shoulder.

"Of course not!" Mingyu said and got up. He dusted himself off with quick moves, and then marched forward, jumping on Junhui once again.

Yet again the same result.

"Oh come on Mingyu..." the knight said, crossing his arms on his chest as he watched the footman trying to collect himself off the carpet.

Wonwoo tried to stifle his laughter, placing an open palm in front of his mouth. But Minghao wasn't as considerate. "Mingyu, Mingyu! Try it once more. Maybe it will work the third time!" he said, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes.

That made Wonwoo broke down, his laugher filling the room along with the prince’s. Minghao passed him a pillow to get more comfortable.

Mingyu grumbled at the teasing he received both from his boyfriend and his best friend. He stood up again, this time trying to tackle Junhui, only for the older to maneuver him, and lightly pin him against an empty wall.

"Say you give up and I'm letting you go." Junhui said, leaning close to his ear.

"Never! We're just going to stand here for eternity." the footman said, like this was his plan all along. "Wonwoo, could you please bring me a pillow?"

"Seriously now Mingyu?" Wonwoo deadpanned.

"That's cheating!" Minghao frowned.

Junhui eventually let the younger go, slapping the back of his head.

"I will give you points for being resourceful. If you're not strong to defeat an enemy, try to outsmart them. Remember, real battles don't have rules." Junhui advised, as he went to sit back on the floor next to Wonwoo.

"Thank you for the tip hyung." Mingyu smiled and fell with his face on the bed.

The conversation kept flowing after that. The four of them talked for all kinds of things, shearing thoughts and opinions. Minghao and Junhui kept bickering.

It wasn’t until Mingyu yawned loudly from his laying position, that Minghao realized it was actually very late. He glanced around the room, a small smile forming around his lips. Junhui had folded his arms on the bed, helping him support his heavy head and Wonwoo hadn’t stopped blinking his sore eyes for at least half an hour straight.

"Everyone... I appreciate you coming all the way here, but you look tired. You should go to sleep." he said lightly but still a little disappointed.

"Five more minutes." Mingyu mumbled and turned his head the other way.

Minghao casted a look at his friend, then his eyes fell on the knight who had curled up besides the bed, resting on the edge of the soft mattress. He shook his head in disapproval, grabbing one of the pillows from around him.

"Put it under Junhui’s head, please." Minghao told Wonwoo, passing him the fluffy pillow with a roll of his eyes.

Wonwoo looked at the prince, slightly surprised as he took the velvet cushion from his hands and procced help his fellow knight.

"Stupid babies, fighting and then sleeping." Minghao scoffed then.

"With all due respect your highness... I thought you didn't like Junhui.” Wonwoo trailed off as he returned from the task the prince assigned him.

"Yes, that's true, but I don't want him to sleep on his foot or something and then to be limping out of here and make more noise than safe." Minghao said with tight lips, glancing back at the foreign knight.

Wonwoo sat next to Mingyu again. It looked like he wanted to run his hand through his fluffy hair, but he looked back at Minghao uncertainly.

"Your highness." he said. "I can wake them up and we can go if you want to rest too."

Minghao side glanced him. His body was practically begging him to go back to sleep. He needed rest, so he could get better. But his heart. His ached for more company. For a way to distract his buzzy mind.

"Actually. I would like to spend some time with you Wonwoo, if you don't mind, that is." the prince said, smiling at the knight's surprised face.

"Of course." Wonwoo replied not knowing what else to say.

Minghao might have been Mingyu's best friend but, making deep conversation with him was nowhere near as easy as it was with Wonwoo.

"So tell me, are you both okay?" the prince asked, facing the knight with serious eyes.

Wonwoo smiled timidly. "We are..." he said. "I, I feel much more optimistic than I used to." he confessed.

"I heard that _this_." Minghao pointed at Junhui's sleeping form. "Helped you out in the beginning..."

Wonwoo laughed then.

Minghao made a confused face at the knight’s sudden amusement.

"Prince Minghao, I am going to be honest here. I feel like we already know so much about each other. Mingyu talks about you a lot and apparently... he mentions me too, sometimes." he said a fainting smirk marring his lips.

"Well, after the night I found out about your relationship he doesn't shut up about you. But that's not a bad thing. Although he has said many things, I would like to get to know you personally." the prince admitted.

"So, from everything he says about me, for what are you the most curious about?" the knight asked.

"Hmm tell about your love for literature. It's an uncommon sight for a knight and it was the first thing that caught my attention." the prince said lightly.

Wonwoo’s face lit up at that. “Truthfully, I've read all kinds of books. My parents weren't rich, so I didn't have many when I was younger.” Wonwoo started, turning his body a little so he could see properly the prince.

“My father wrote short stories that I used to read. He taught me the alphabet and appropriate grammar. When I came here to train, I figured out there was a library at the castle where we were allowed to read." he explained.

"I've been to the library many times. How come I've never seen you before?" Minghao wondered.

"You might have... But I'm just another knight, nothing about me is attention-grabbing." Wonwoo said.

Minghao looked at his best friend. "He probably thinks the opposite though." Minghao pointed out. "You really suit each other." he smiled.

"Thank you, prince Minghao. It... must have been hard, accepting umm, us." he said. "Thank you for being open-minded."

"To be honest Wonwoo, at the beginning I didn't know what made you so special in Mingyu's eyes, that made him want to put his life on the line. But now I do. You are smart and kind-hearted. You have manners and politeness graces your speech. And when I see you two interact... I will dare to say you look amazing." Minghao said honestly around a swallow sigh.

Wonwoo blushed embarrassed and nodded in a silent thank you.

"I should now get Chan to stop trying to get him to court a lady." the prince continued.

"Yes please. It makes him very uncomfortable every time your young valet starts babbling about girls. He thinks he is cheating on me only by speaking about them." the knight laughed under his breath.

Minghao giggled. "So now your turn. What do you want to know about me?"

"Your highness I don't know if I can...." the knight hesitated.

"Come on. You held my face to help with my fever. I think we are close enough for a simple question." the prince spoke, urging Wonwoo further.

Wonwoo inhaled, puffing his cheeks. "Hmm... have you ever been outside of the country your highness?" he asked carefully.

Minghao's smile slowly dropped. Damn, Mingyu really talked a lot.

"No, I haven't." he said drawing his legs to his chest.

Wonwoo breathed in again. "Would you like to?" he asked, eyes locked on the prince face.

Minghao remained silent for a while. That was not a topic he had ever discussed with anyone except Chan and Mingyu. Could he trust Wonwoo?

That question was useless, the prince realized. They already shared life threating secrets. When asked about who he trusted the most in his life he used to reply Mingyu and Chan in a heartbeat. 

But after this past month... Things were different. He didn't like it, but he had gotten in this mess with Mingyu, Wonwoo and Junhui, and he had no choice but to trust them too. One more secret wouldn't make a difference.

"Yes." he said in the end.

He didn't need to say more. The fact that he willingly admitted it out loud in his room was the same as yelling it outside the window. He took a shaky breath to calm down.

The knight gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you for sharing that with me your highness." Wonwoo said softly. "I'm sorry if I cornered you in any way but, I’ll let you know this. That wish you have... coincidentally it’s one thing that all three of us have in common." he added and then started shaking Mingyu lightly.

Mingyu hummed and clung onto Wonwoo. "Mingyu, it's time to get up..." the knight said softly.

"No, it isn't." the footman said and dragged the knight on top of him, getting comfortable again.

"Mingyu come on." Wonwoo whined.

"Shh." the younger said, running his hands down his lover's back

Wonwoo sighed, clearly not wanting to get up either, even though they really had to.

Minghao observed them for a while. He felt his heart beating faster. Was this what his kingdom thought was punishable by death? Was it really so disgusting, so unnatural for two people that clearly cared for each other to be together?

Was it really a nice and loving kingdom, like theirs was supposed to be, if it made people like Mingyu and Wonwoo want to leave? They readily sent a sixteen-year-old to marry in another country but drove their own people away with the threat of death?

Mingyu was the epitome of kind and caring. If someone like him wanted to get away from here, what did that day about Gisa?

That was when the answer finally dawned upon him. Furious, he brought his hand on the air, slapping Junhui awake.

"Whaa-?" the knight said confused, his eyes wide open and tired.

"I understand." Minghao said in Mandarin, eyes blazing. "I finally got it. I would have killed me too."

Junhui threw him a confused look. Then it clicked and he chuckled. "I knew you would understand one day." he answered, flashing the mot genuine smile Minghao had ever seen directed him.

"Thank you for stopping me..." he whispered as the knight stood up, stretching his aching limbs.

"I just did what I had promised. I couldn't leave them be. Not now when all the world is against them." Junhui said and watched as Wonwoo tried to coax Mingyu awake by petting him lightly on the forehead.

"It had nothing to do with you, my prince." the knight added.

Minghao nodded.

"Come on love, Junhui is up as well, we have to go." Wonwoo said and Mingyu finally opened his eyes. He looked at Wonwoo, smiling on top of him, then he turned his head to look at Minghao. The prince tried to soften his face, not to alarm his freshly awaken friend.

Junhui picked up the pillows that were scattered and placed them around Minghao. The prince threw him a mildly confused glance, before he nodded his head in a silent thank you. His eyes fell back in his friend, whose face had stuck in a weirdly shocked grimace. Minghao crooked an eyebrow in question.

"Earth to Mingyu! Can you hear me?" Wonwoo asked waving his hand in front of the footman's face.

"I think he is broken." Junhui said and tucked another pillow behind Minghao's head.

"Where am I?" Mingyu questioned Wonwoo, eyes wide.

"Prince Minghao's room." Wonwoo replied a little confused. "We snuck in, now we have to get back out." he explained briefly, flicking Mingyu's temple.

"Are you sure?" the footman asked again, pointing at Junhui and Minghao.

Wonwoo looked were Mingyu was pointing, meeting the prince equally confused gaze.

"Stop staring." Minghao said at the couple.

"You're one to talk, you were practically ogling them with your eyes the past ten minutes." Junhui snickered, sitting down beside the prince.

"Wonwoo tell me I'm dreaming please." Mingyu faced the older with a scared expression.

"Mingyu love, what's gotten into you?" Wonwoo said, his tone a little worried.

"Excuse me... Am I the only one who sees that?" Mingyu answered back pointing between the prince and the Chinese knight.

"What?" the two said at the same time.

Wonwoo rolled off Mingyu as a laugh erupted from the back of his throat.

"I see it too. Don't question it, let it go away." he said, pulling Mingyu into a sitting position.

"B-bu-but-" Mingyu stuttered.

"No buts! We have to leave. Come on." Wonwoo said strictly, successfully lifting Mingyu from the prince's bed.

"Junhui let's get going. Thank you, your highness." Wonwoo bowed.

"Bye. Thank you for coming." Minghao waved them goodbye, before coughing loudly, his throat dry.

"Water. It keeps you hydrated." was all Mingyu said in his half-asleep state, and stumbled to the silver water cup, handing it to Minghao.

Minghao puffed his cheeks and took the cup, downing it in go.

"There, happy? Now go before they find you." the prince hissed, shooing them away.

Mingyu smiled at him proudly and walked to the door with Wonwoo behind him. Junhui was left at the end as always.

"Bye." Minghao waved at him with pursed lips.

"Have a lovely night and get well soon my prince." Junhui bowed and slipped through the door closing it behind him.

Minghao fell back on his bed and hugged a pillow close to him. His head was burning, his throat was sore, and his nose was stuffed, but his chest felt light.

~*~

Like the Chinese knight wished, Minghao got better.

A week later, he was back on his feet and busier than ever. He frequently held meetings with the more powerful merchants, focusing more on his political activities than his studies. His father even requested his presence at a meeting with general Jihoon, something that had never been necessary before.

Minghao remembered Junhui's words from the other night. _If you’re not strong enough defeat an enemy then you have to outsmart them_. General Jihoon must have outsmarted a lot of people in his life.

Seokmin the musician also left, after a huge round of complaints from a certain clothier.

"I'm literally leaving tomorrow, why can't you wait to see me off? Why do I have to be the one who bids you goodbye again? It should be the other way around this time!" Seungkwan had said, secretly concealing tears and Seokmin had laughed fondly.

Seokmin had hugged Chan tightly promising to return soon with gifts. He had hugged Soonyoung as well, praying to the gods that he found his happiness again. The letter he had left Jihoon, said the same words.

"Bye Seokmin! Next time I see you I will have a better wedding story than you!" Seungkwan yelled as the tall boy rode away on his horse.

The next day, it was the clothier's turn to bid goodbye to his friends.

The royal navy’s ship, _Johnny_ , was waiting for him, loaded with all kinds of royal clothes and a generous part of Gisa’s gold.

"Soonie hyung, your roots will show again before I come back, please take care of them." he said, squishing his face to the steward's chest.

"Don't worry about my roots and worry about the wedding. It's finally time Kwannie!" Soonyoung smiled.

"Let's show Zhanshi what Gisa’s clothiers and decorators are made of!" Chan exclaimed happily. "We will miss you." he added a little less happily.

"Oh shut up, I'll be back before you know it! Fear my letters! Especially you Channie, I'm going to write the most detailed ones to you and I fully expect an equivalent reply!" Seungkwan said and the valet groaned.

"I promise you all, I will be careful. I can't wait to return so we can have Seokjin hyung make us lemon chicken again." he said and boarded his ship. “Goodbye my friends! Take care!”

Chan whistled as they saw their friend disappear from the deck and Soonyoung waved a white cloth.

And just like that, time rolled peacefully in Gisa. Even after some hardships, everything seemed to go as it was supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for this Saturday dear our readers.
> 
> Next week... something BIG is coming............
> 
> I hope you liked this filler and like every other time, we are looking forward to your opinion at the comments.
> 
> SO! Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy!
> 
> -SkWh


	11. I Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooooo peopleeeeeee!!!!
> 
> Today is a rather good day I must say. A very special one, which I believe you also have been waiting for.
> 
> This particular chapter doesn't come with a clarification but a Warning instead.
> 
> Please do not fret for what you're about to read! The warnings and tags are COMPLETELY honest and accurate. We HAVEN'T "forgotten" to mention anything.
> 
> But I don't want to spoil the story.
> 
> So without further ado....
> 
> Enjoy~~~

The bells of the church rang ominously over the people that swarmed the streets of Gisa. Some were humming mournful melodies, others were silent. But the majority were crying, sniffing and sobbing sounds filling the previously buzzing roads of the kingdom.

It was as if the spring breeze had gotten stale, pathetically traveling through the air. Its dim presence was only good for pushing the mourning voices towards the sea, the place that was the cause for the veil of misfortune that had spread around the town.

Gisa was dressed in black, because Boo Seungkwan's ship had been attacked.

The young clothier, the prodigy that earned the sympathy and love of everyone who met him, had lost his life in the battle to save his country's treasures. That was the information that came back from the seas, together with an almost destroyed ship.

The news shook the earth beneath Gisa. Every last piece of gold, every single precious item, all the gifts that were supposed to be given to Zhanshi for the wedding were lost in such a devastating way. When the news reached the palace, everything fell into darkness. Soonyoung and Chan were the most shaken of all, crying for their lost friend. Prince Minghao flipped every single piece of furniture in his study room before he himself had collapsed, tears filling his eyes and Mingyu couldn’t speak to anyone for a long time after the news.

The thing was, that wedding was very important for the kingdom. The alliance between the two nations was sacred, and it had been preserved for too many generations to fall apart now. Now that the ship that was so important for this alliance had been raided, the negotiations with Zhanshi were not stable. All the negotiations and agreements that have been made were meaningless, as some of the items on Seungkwan’s ship were one of a kind and could not be remade. Prince Samuel was trying his best to preserve the wedding, but ultimately, it was not up to him.

Gisa had suddenly been thrown into shaky waters, and no one had been prepared for it.

Pirates. It had been a long time since they had appeared on this side of the ocean. They must have been a new crew, one that hadn't faced general Jihoon's wrath when he first assumed his position. That was why they dared lay a hand on a royal ship without fearing for repercussions.

The pirates had completely emptied the royal ship, claiming its precious cargo and food alike. What was worse though, was that they had had the audacity to send it back to Gisa, with every man on board, but without food or water. It was a cruel atrocity, one befitting the vile pirates that were thought to have left them alone years ago. Most men had been severely sick upon their arrival, but least they had survived the five-day trip.

Seungkwan hadn’t been as lucky.

General Jihoon tried to appear composed, calm and decisive to the people that were turning to him to either ask for guidance or accuse him for not protecting the ship properly. The man had stopped sleeping completely, going from meeting to meeting, studying and trying to find information to end those blasted pirates once and for all. He swore to himself that it was the last time he failed in defeating them.

The news of the loss of the wedding ship and the clothier's death travelled quickly through all the country. Even Seokmin returned, after he had already started his new trip only two weeks ago. When the musician arrived at the palace's door, his little brother emerged through the main gate. He ran to him, hot fat tears escaping his eyes. Seokmin hugged Chan tightly, trying to seem strong. Though when Soonyoung came behind him, enveloping him in the same kind of hug, his knees gave out. If only Seokjin hadn't gently coaxed them inside, they would still be in the middle of the courtyard mourning for their lost friend. The friend who had grown up with them, one who had always been a source of light.

The arrangements of the funeral were delayed because of the sudden turbulence in their international politics. The king thought they should prepare for the worst, even though a war was not to be expected.

One night, Seokjin made lemon chicken. Everyone gathered in the kitchen, even Jihoon, after Seokmin's prodding. Their ranks weren't considered important as they all sat in the kitchen, eating together in memory of their vibrant friend. The king had allowed it for once.

So they ate, even though they didn't have appetites, and they talked about their dead friend's happiest memories, even if they felt like crying. Seokjin insisted that it wouldn't be healthy for them if they let Seungkwan go without a closure.

Jihoon left early, banging his hands on the counter and locking himself in the library, studying and researching about the newest recorded pirate crews, drowning himself into his work.

Then Soonyoung cried. Then Chan cried. And then everyone cried.

After the funeral, the kingdom was left wounded. Even though the townsmen continued with their everyday life as per normal, nothing was the same. The air was filled with anticipation and fear for the next few months. The palace was silent. No laughter, or shouting. Just people moving around doing their jobs.

"And that," Junhui said as he and Wonwoo were taking a break from their exercises, "is your system's flaw."

"What do you mean?" the other knight asked him curiously.

"You all are too close with each other in this castle. A clothier died and now everything is a mess. You don't regroup fast enough. What if pirates came here now? Who's going to fight them, Mingyu?" he snickered. "At least the general seems to prioritize his work." Junhui shrugged.

Wonwoo looked offended. "You know that the same thing would happen if you died, right?" he said. "Caring for someone and feeling sad for the death of your friend isn't wrong."

"Of course it isn't Wonwoo, don't get me wrong, I'm not heartless. I'm just pointing out a weakness an enemy might use, that's all." he said as he got up and stretched. "I'd take this place over my previous one any day." he added offering his hand to his friend.

"Well, that's why we are here right?" Wonwoo said, accepting Junhui's hand. "To protect them."

“It’s all we can do.” Junhui agreed.

"Oh, Jeon will need all the protection he can get." a voice suddenly said and both knights whipped their heads around, trying to find its source.

It was no other than one of their fellow knights, who was using the same training grounds as them. He had discarded his sword somewhere behind him, but he didn’t need it to appear threatening. It was never a good sign when this person decided to talk to them.

"Bogum." Junhui sighed. "What do you want?"

"Who talked to you?" the man mimicked Junhui's accent and then turned to Wonwoo. "Dear Wonwoo here is the one who should be asking himself what he wants." he gave him a fake smile.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "Is there a way we can help you Bogum?" he asked, trying to be polite even to someone like him.

"Again, it's yourself that you should be helping. All these time, general Jihoon has been treating you like royalty. That may change sometime, is all I'm saying." the knight shrugged.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Junhui asked him, arching an eyebrow.

"Honestly Wen, I can't take you seriously with that accent." Bogum laughed and walked away nonchalantly.

"At least I speak instead of bellowing." he murmured in Mandarin.

Junhui had come to expect a snicker from a certain prince when he said stuff like that nowadays. Wonwoo unfortunately couldn't understand him. But even if he could, Junhui had a feeling he wouldn’t be amused right now.

Wonwoo seemed shaken. He usually ignored pricks like Bogum, but this time, his words seemed to have gotten to him. And understandably so, because Wonwoo had something major he was hiding now, and assholes like Bogum would give everything to expose him.

"Turn to me and smile Wonwoo." Junhui instructed quietly. "He should be looking for your reaction, don't look guilty."

"Junhui what if.... what if he knows something?" Wonwoo said, his voice tired.

"There is nothing for him to know." Junhui said sternly "Because you're doing nothing wrong."

Wonwoo looked at Junhui with concern written all over his face, unable to mask this. Junhui sighed and took a step in front of him, hiding him from Bogum’s view. Protecting Wonwoo had never been more important than now.

"Come on, let's get some practice done." he said, taking Wonwoo’s arm in his and leading him forward.

~*~

The evening found Minghao and Mingyu cooped up at Minghao’s study at the top of the castle. They watched the view of the otherwise alive town, but they remained mostly silent. There were not many things one could say during a time of mourning.

"You know..." Mingyu said at some point. "I always dreamed that at my wedding, Seungkwan would be the one that designed everything. I was looking forward to walking inside a room full of people that would be gathered there for me, wearing a formal attire from Seungkwan that would stand out even amongst the most beautiful of decorations. Seokmin would sing, and you would be the one standing next to the priest that performed the ceremony. I have taken those things for granted." he took a deep breath. "That dream got destroyed in every way possible."

Minghao sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "This is why we shouldn't take anything for granted... not our friends, our lives, our jobs." A small pause. "Our feelings." he said, his eyes never leaving the view in front of him. It was a beautiful sunset. Orange, yellow and red mixing together, creating a breathtaking sight, better than the richest paintings. Yet neither of them could appreciate it properly.

"I've taken a lot of things for granted in my life." Mingyu continued seriously. "Even Wonwoo... I confessed to him so easily. Had I known then what I know now, I don't think I would have had the courage to do it. I can be so childish at times." Mingyu frowned.

Minghao understood what was going on in his friend's head. After his own mother had died, he had spent days thinking about her life, about himself, about how everything could have been different.

Death is a great wake up call. When you realize you don't have infinite time you look at yourself a lot clearer than before, trying to fix your mistakes before it's too late. Some people go mad like this, they lose themselves forever in their thoughts, their guilt and their insecurity.

Minghao didn't think that his friend would be one of those people, but he patted his leg comfortingly nevertheless. "You are doing the best you can.” he said. “We all are."

"I feel like I have more to give. If only we weren't illegal… If only I could express myself without fearing for my life and Wonwoo's." Mingyu groaned in frustration.

"It's okay Mingyu. At least you are both healthy. I swear that when I become king things will change. Maybe it will take time, years even, but if I have to change an entire kingdom's beliefs for you to be happy, then I will." Minghao said clenching his fist.

Mingyu met his gaze. He had dark circles under his eyes, but they were still full of admiration.

"You're the best person I've ever met in my life Minghao. You're everything someone could ask for. And you'll become a splendid king one day. I know it." he smiled and pulled the prince in his arms.

"I'm nowhere near perfect." Minghao said, holding his friend's arm around him. "I tried to be, but there is always going to be something I'm missing." he continued. "It… it took me so long to understand Junhui, you know?" he said after a moment of hesitation. "I feel like we are standing miles apart, trying to communicate by yelling in empty space. I will never be able to listen to him if I don't move." he took a pause to breathe. "And Junhui is just one person. How many others are there that I won't be able to understand? It's scary."

"It not so difficult. You just have to open your ears and listen." Mingyu said and pinched Minghao's pointy ear. "Listening to someone's story helps you to understand where they come from."

"I did listen. He taught me that too." Minghao said thoughtfully. It hadn’t been enough though, and Minghao didn’t want to say that to Mingyu right now.

"You have started paying more attention to what he says. Remarkable." Mingyu snickered. "Anyway. Are you coming today?" he asked, changing the subject completely.

"What's today?" Minghao asked scooting away to have a better view of his friend.

"Date night." Mingyu winked.

 _Date night_. Minghao snorted and shook his head. "Remember when Chan and I used to tease you about going on dates with Wonwoo? I can't believe how much this backfired." he laughed, but then another thought crossed his mind. "Wait, doesn't Junhui have patrol in the town today? How are you going?" he asked.

"If you come, it will be the three of us. If not, Wonwoo and I decided to go alone." Mingyu said softly.

"Mingyu no." Minghao said, furrowing his eyebrows "That's dangerous."

"We've done it so many times Minghao..." Mingyu said, in way that told Minghao he wouldn’t change his mind no matter what. Still, Minghao had to try.

"But still, who's going to guard you? You're always going to the back garden, what if someone enters and you don't see them? Come on Mingyu, you can go another time, why the rush?" the prince said, worry building up in his chest

Mingyu sighed. "I need to get out of here Minghao. And today is the only day available for Wonwoo this week. I can't stand watching Soonyoung hyung's dropped smile and Channie's red eyes. I need some air." he admitted.

"Wonwoo wouldn't let that risk your safety." Minghao said crossing his arms. "How did he agree to this?"

"He loves me too much?" Mingyu grinned innocently.

"Is _he_ ok?" Minghao continued prodding.

Mingyu’s face fell again, probably realizing that he couldn’t get out of this. “I will tell you, but promise me you won’t make a big deal out of this.”

“What’s wrong?” Minghao made no promises.

"Something happened in the morning that made him anxious." Mingyu said, his face serious. "There is this guy in our army named Bogum, I don't know if you have heard of him before." Mingyu clenched his fists, the mention of his name obviously annoying him. "From the night that I confessed to Wonwoo and we ended up suspended, he started being a nightmare. Wonwoo’s been ignoring him all this time, but now I think he is scared of him finding out about us." Mingyu explained.

"Bogum? I don't know him." Minghao said.

Honestly, Minghao didn't think it was that serious. It was hard working together with many people, it was inevitable running into someone you disliked.

But still, Wonwoo? Had that Bogum ever seen him holding a book with his thin hands, round glasses on his face and his knees drawn to his chest? Minghao couldn't imagine that anyone had seen Wonwoo like that and hadn’t wanted to protect him from all the evil in the world. Minghao might have been younger than him, but he still felt like he should be taking care of him sometimes.

"Well, apparently he exists." Mingyu sighed frustrated. "That's why we’re going out tonight even though we don't have an escort. We need air. Both of us."

"I still think this is a bad idea..." Minghao said but Mingyu was obviously determined.

A few months ago, Mingyu didn't have that look. There was no determination to sharpen his features, not an aura of confidence around him. _He really has grown_ , Minghao thought.

"As I told you, we've done this so many times already. We are experts. We will even stay at the front so that we won't be completely blind." Mingyu said. "Besides, what can possibly go wrong now?" he smiled.

"Just be careful okay? ...I can't lose you too." Minghao murmured.

"We will, don't worry." the footman said gently, placing his head on Minghao’s shoulder. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." he chuckled.

~*~

Mingyu walked slowly towards the back of the garden. For once, he was early. His room’s walls were not able to keep him inside any longer.

He hadn't left the castle alone with Wonwoo ever since they first got together, all those months ago. He was a little nervous, but he was also tired of everything happening. He needed Wonwoo and he needed him now.

The knight was apparently early too. When Mingyu saw his silhouette among the darkness he rushed and enveloped him in a hug.

"We can't yet..." came a weak protest from Wonwoo, but his body melted in the hug.

The footman sighed deeply. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just that I've missed you so much..." he admitted, burying his face in the other’s hair.

"Let's just go..." Wonwoo muttered, taking a small step backwards.

"Are you alright love?" Mingyu asked in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, just tired. I want to hold your hand so let's get out of here already." he said quietly, tightening his thin coat around him.

Wonwoo looked extra fragile that day. Mingyu pursed his lips angrily. He was tired too, yet he had to climb a literal wall to be with the one person that could comfort him. Mingyu never really got angry, but after Seungkwan's death it felt like he had been walking on a thin thread, ready to snap at the slightest nudge.

They did their all too familiar routine; waiting for the guards to leave, climbing on the storage house's roof and the stone wall, and ending up in the small dark alley behind the castle. They were almost there.

They walked quickly towards the old hospital. Now that they didn't have an escort, they tried to be extra careful in the streets. They reached their destination without a single word exchanged between them, both of their attention focused on their surroundings.

When they were back to their safe space, they could finally be themselves. Before they even slipped inside their courtyard completely, Mingyu was already holding Wonwoo in a tight hug, showering him with feather kisses.

That was not what Wonwoo needed at the moment though. He grabbed Mingyu’s chin and slotted their lips together firmly. His touch felt urgent, like he wanted to get lost in Mingyu. Away from the castle, away from Gisa, away from reality.

Mingyu knew that Wonwoo wasn't used to handling big emotions. He preferred to keep his face and heart stoic, it was easier that way. Mingyu also knew that he had messed that up from the moment they met, because his knight was expressing himself more and more nowadays. Sometimes it was awkward, sometimes he used really fancy words than nobody but Minghao understood, but whatever the case, Mingyu was proud of him.

And now here Wonwoo was, clinging to him, kissing him like there was no tomorrow because he felt sad and afraid, but also because he had something else bubbling inside him that Mingyu realized he didn't know how to express. It was the same thing he was feeling.

"Wonwoo…" Mingyu said between their mouths. "I love you."

Wonwoo inhaled sharply, shivering at the words that Mingyu shared with him. He snaked his arms around his neck, bringing himself closer. He kissed Mingyu passionately his lips trailing from Mingyu's own to his jawline down to his neck until he reached his ear. He took the lobe between his teeth nibbling lightly he whispered in a deep voice; "I love you too Mingyu. So much."

Mingyu moaned and dragged Wonwoo to the nearest bench. He sat on it and pulled the knight on his lap to continue what he was doing. As Wonwoo kissed him, he repeated 'I love you, I love you' many times, for every different part of his body he kissed. It was like a dam had opened for him, letting out all the pent-up feelings pour out now that he had the proper words. How long had he been waiting to say it? Mingyu had no way of knowing. All he could do was sit down and let him show it by pressing his lips and his tongue against every inch of skin he could find.

It was a heavenly feeling it. Mingyu moaned again and turned his head to the side, giving Wonwoo more room to explore.

And explore he did. Wonwoo dragged his lips at every inch of skin gracing it with butterfly kisses. He reached for Mingyu's shirt buttons, undoing them quickly, exposing the footman's toned torso. He groaned at the sight in front of him and without second thought he lowered his head to bite at his collarbones. After every bite, his tongue darted out to sooth the reddened skin, making Mingyu shake underneath his touch.

Mingyu whined, wishing the other could leave him marks. He loved the sharp sensation Wonwoo’s soft bites left, he wanted more. He slid his hands underneath Wonwoo's shirt, feeling his stomach and his waist.

"You're cold." he murmured, bringing himself back to reality.

He hugged Wonwoo closer, wrapping his arms around him fully. The knight did the same, trapping Mingyu's face in the crook of his neck. He threaded his fingers calmly through his brown locks, slowly catching his breath. He nuzzled in Mingyu's hair inhaling the smell of his soap. Levander, so soothing and calming.

"How was your day love?" Wonwoo asked sweetly, once they were both relaxed.

"Long." Mingyu said tiredly. "It is so hard... knowing that Seungkwan won't kick the kitchen door open anytime now and yell about getting a proper lock on the door that matches the rest of the room’s design." he sighed.

"Honestly, I didn't know him, but from all these things that I have heard the past days... He sounded like a really good person. I’m so sorry for your loss Gyu." Wonwoo kissed the top of his head.

Mingyu felt some tears threatening to appear. He buried his face into Wonwoo chest, letting out a shaky breath.

"We all grew up together, you know? It was the king's idea... Good relationships between the kingdom's subjects was very important to him. He let a lot of kids inside the castle to get a proper education, or simply get acquainted with the staff. If he saw potential in someone, he kept getting tutors to hone their abilities. Sure, each of us had a special group of friends, like Soonyoung hyung, Seokmin and Seungkwan did, but we all talked to each other like family. I can't believe Seungkwan is gone, just like that..." Mingyu mumbled.

Wonwoo petted Mingyu's head softly.

"It's alright love. Everything is going to be alright. It's devastating, I know, but try to be brave yes? Time heals wounds. We all need some time..." he mumbled kissing his forehead this time.

"I know... I can't do anything about it anymore.” he said, wiping his tears. “But you," he leaned up and tapped Wonwoo's nose, "should definitely beat that asshole Bogum up."

Wonwoo let out a noise between a grunt and a laugh. "You know that I can't do that. I got suspended once I can't afford it again. Besides, if I do anything to him I will only prove his accusations right. And I definitely don't want that."

"Then Junhui and I will beat him up. Just say the word." Mingyu said and jokingly flexed his muscles.

Wonwoo clearly laughed at that.

"No offence love, but you're not ready to fight a knight yet." he said sweetly, taking Mingyu's face in his hands and brushing their noses together.

"I've got my ultimate trick, you know. If he pins me against a wall, he is stuck there for eternity!" Mingyu tried to joke, remembering his spectacular fight with Junhui.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "Okay you." he said trying to appear strict. "No more hanging out with Junhui."

"But, but, but I like Junhui..." Mingyu pouted.

"Yes, but he is bad for your head love." Wonwoo pinched his cheek, kissing the pout away.

"And you are bad for my heart, but you don't see me complaining." Mingyu smiled cutely. "If it means you get to kiss me more." Mingyu winked.

Wonwoo pursed his lips, trying to hide a smile. "Come here, you little." he said and locked their lips in an indulging kiss.

It was amazing how a few moments with Wonwoo could lift Mingyu's heart from the sadness it had been submerged in the last couple of days. It was such a precious feeling, knowing that you had someone to share your burden, someone who knew and understood you. It gave Mingyu confidence and courage, both traits that he never thought he would possess. A couple of months ago, he used to giggle like a little girl at the mention of a knight, and now, he was ready to fight one for Wonwoo.

"I love you." he said again, wanting his knight to know exactly what he was experiencing.

Wonwoo smiled fondly.

"I love you too Mingyu." he answered, locking eyes with the footman.

It was ironic how those words, full with positive emotions, were the reason why the world shattered around them.

_Clang._

A sword waved in the air, cutting away the thick plants that were around the hole of the old hospital.

"Kim Mingyu, Jeon Wonwoo!" a gruff voice followed it, dark and threatening.

It snapped both their attention towards its source, but it was too late. The courtyard of the old hospital was filled with knights before they even had the chance to separate.

"Don't move! You're under arrest!"

~*~

Wonwoo had done it now.

Bogum knew the letters he exchanged with the first footman were not just something normal. After some digging around, the knight found out that Kim Mingyu had gotten suspended at the same time Wonwoo had. There was definitely something going on with those two.

Then, once the letters stopped being delivered directly between the two "friends", he realized that annoying Chinese knight that always seemed to follow Wonwoo around must have had something to do with it. So Bogum watched both of them.

The first time he watched them leave their building late at night, he knew that he finally had Wonwoo cornered.

Oh yes. The model knight, well-educated and handsome, secluded and shy, favored by everyone, including the general. It was time he exposed him for the fraud he was.

After that night, Bogum watched Wonwoo any time of the day he could. He sometimes followed him to the library, or watched from his window when he started doing exercises with Wen Junhui. He seemed so innocent, with his light brown hair covering his pretty eyes. Bogum knew better.

Admittedly, if it wasn't for his own friends, it might have taken him longer to find out what was going on.

"Bogum you have an obsession." they had said. "Get a girlfriend already, being with men is illegal." they had joked and then it clicked.

Something always seemed amiss in Wonwoo's interactions with the footman inside the castle, where he could see them. They seemed close, but not _that_ close, like they purposely kept their distance. It was all in the way Kim Mingyu looked at his fellow knight. He wouldn’t be able to keep the lovesick look away from his face even if he wore a mask. Wonwoo was not like him though. He always kept his face calm, like he had been trained to.

But there were some cursed times the footman sometimes managed to make him lift the corners of his lips up. Wonwoo never smiled like that around anyone else, so open, so carefree, and so damn beautiful. During those times, Bogum saw red.

And that was only the tip of the iceberg.

One night he couldn't sleep properly. He was thinking about stupid Jeon Wonwoo, trying to find a way to uncover what the knight was hiding. Because Bogum was certain that he wasn't the innocent knight that they all believed he was. So he decided to take a walk, clear his mind. It was really late when he got out of the army's building and started strolling around the castle.

He huffed and puffed. He had to find what was going on between Wonwoo and that ridiculously tall footman, not matter how vile it was.

After an hour of squeezing his brain without getting an actual result he gave up and trailed back to his room. As he was turning towards the stables though, something caught his attention. He quickly hid behind the palace's wall and observed.

Someone was climbing inside the castle. Bogum squinted his eyes trying to make out a face. When he did, his eyes widened. Fricking Jeon Wonwoo. He was with the footman of course, and his tail Wen Junhui.

Bogum smirked evilly. At last. He had evidence to expose him.

He shouldn't rush it though. It was one thing if the knight slipped out of the castle illegally, but what was the reason behind this escapade? If it was what Bogum suspected, the punishment would be so much worse. So he waited.

He endured days of watching Wonwoo walking around carelessly, seeming brighter than he ever was. He smiled more, he even talked a bit more with that deep voice of his. It gave Bogum an entire new reason to _hate_ him. Yet, for all his reputation of being a great knight, neither him nor that Chinese transfer had managed to realize that he was watching, waiting for the right moment to follow them out.

That was until the attack on that clothier's ship. The palace was a mess. Wen Junhui had been right when he had implied that this was absolutely unacceptable, even if he had worded it differently to not hurt Wonwoo's precious feelings.

Well, Bogum didn’t care much. What he did realize though was that if the small company ever had a chance to lower their defenses and mess their little outings up, it was in the midst of those emotional times. So Bogum did what he did best, he tried to rile the two knights up. He tried to make Wonwoo feel distressed enough to need comfort, and from his observations, that usually meant going to the stupid footman.

Bogum's heart was beating fast as he subtly threatened the person he had been watching for so long. Afterwards, he went to his room and screamed to his pillow. If he was lucky enough, that would be the night he finally caught Wonwoo. He was damn excited.

It worked like clockwork. Wen was on patrol, but Wonwoo left the dorms in the middle of the night anyway. Bogum followed him and the footman all the way to the old hospital.

What he saw there made his jaw drop. He should have known it, it was exactly as he suspected it. Jeon Wonwoo was holding onto the first footman like there was no tomorrow and he was kissing him straight on the mouth. They were barely inside the building and they were already like this. Bogum was appalled. Small whimpers fell from the knight's lips, sounds that Bogum knew he wasn't even aware of.

Bogum clenched his teeth. He knew that he should feel disgusted. He knew that he should turn around right now and report them. But he couldn't help himself. He stayed and watched, like he always did.

He had never seen Wonwoo's lips like that, softly caressing another pair. He bit his own lips instinctively. The two whispered something amongst themselves and then the footman sat on a bench, pulling Wonwoo on his lap. Bogum frowned at how easily Wonwoo accepted that. What a whore.

Then Wonwoo started kissing the footman's neck and shoulder and ear and Bogum huffed a sigh. He wiped some sweat that had gathered on his forehead. He refused to believe that Wonwoo could get such a reaction out of him, he wasn’t going to allow it.

_He's so damn beautiful. I have to destroy that._

The last straw was when he saw them cuddle after their make out session. They were whispering to each other, with Wonwoo occasionally kissing the footman sweetly. They were radiating pure love and it _that_ beyond disgusting. Enough was enough. Bogum spat at the ground and left. Time to unravel the truth.

He run back to the castle. No time to be discreet. He went right through the main entrance.

"Wait who's there?" the guards blocked his path.

"Bogum! But I don't have time for this, I'm in a chase and I have to inform the general!" he shouted and passed right through the guards.

"Wait what chase? Hyung wait!" the younger guard run behind him.

Not leaving time for the knight that was following him to catch his breath, he stormed inside the army's building and made a beeline to the general's office. With a little luck, and the knowledge that the general rarely ever slept, he would still be in his office. Bogum knocked on the door urgently.

"Who is it?" the general's voice sounded behind the closed door.

Bogum opened the door without another word, politeness be damned. They needed to catch Wonwoo in action.

"What the-? Who are you and how dare you to barge in my office like that?" Jihoon stood up.

"Sir, it's Park Bogum." the knight said urgently, "I've spotted something disturbing in the town just now, we don't have time-"

"Hold on a second there! Firstly, who gave you permission to go out?" the general demanded.

"Sir, I'm telling you, it's important. Jeon Wonwoo and Kim Mingyu are at the old hospital. They are... together." he spat. “In a sexual way.”

Jihoon looked at the knight with a neutral face.

"Are you serious now? Do you think that I will actually believe that?" he huffed.

"Sir, I'm telling the truth! They snuck out form the wall above the stables when the guards at the roof changed posts. They've been doing it for months now! Please send knights at the old hospital at once!"

Jihoon looked at the knight skeptically. This was really serious, and the general had to choice but to listen. He must have realized that the knight wouldn't just accuse someone of something like that, because his face went from annoyingly blank to uncertain.

"You know that what you're saying is extremely serious?" the general asked. “There will be heavy consequences for you if you’re lying to me.”

Bogum took a deep breath.

"I'm aware sir. If we go now you will catch them in action. I'm sure you will agree with me that they should be stopped."

Jihoon cursed under his breath. He looked conflicted for a few moments, pacing up and down with his office with a heavy frown, before he came to the logical conclusion.

"I hope that all this is true. For your own good." he said behind his teeth. "Wake the first unit. Bring them here." he ordered.

Bogum smiled. General Jihoon was on his side.

"Right away sir!" he said and went around the building to wake up said unit.

After ten minutes, Bogum was leaving the palace with a handful of soldiers behind him. He ran the main street and halted when he reached the corner of alley where the hospital was.

"Alright, you must be really silent. They don't know that I followed them. So be careful. I will be waiting outside." he said to the unit's leader.

The knight nodded and proceed to capture the couple. They walked inside the alley, and Bogum pointed at the hole that Wonwoo and the footman used to enter.

The leader waved at his soldiers to move forward and shouted.

"Kim Mingyu, Jeon Wonwoo!” he shouted, slicing the plants in front of him to make an imposing entrance. "Don't move! You're under arrest!" he pointed his sword towards them.

Bogum pressed his head on the wall to get a better view. Kim Mingyu got up, his hands spread protectively in front of Wonwoo. The knight was still sitting on the bench, frozen. He looked so afraid, his hands shaking by his side. The footman was saying something, but Bogum didn't pay him any mind. His eyes were focused on Wonwoo, on how he seemed unable to breathe. _Some knight you are, letting a civilian handle a situation like this,_ Bogum thought.

His knights were closing in on the pair, and the footman couldn't get them to stay back.

"Leave him alone!" Bogum heard him shouting. They had successful dragged him away from Wonwoo, but he was fighting back. The knight was still as a statue as two of the soldiers grabbed him from the biceps, moving to take him away as well.

"I said leave him alone!" the footman yelled again. Then a pained groan was heard. Bogum peeked his head inside and saw the tall servant on the ground clenching his stomach.

"Wait..." Wonwoo seemed to come to his senses.

 _Oh, this will be fun. Do I finally get to see him mad?_ Bogum thought with a smile.

"Wait!" the knight yelled again. "Don't hurt him! Get your hands off him, he didn't do anything!"

The knight started fighting. Fists and shouting were exchanged, and Bogum was enjoying every minute of it. Wonwoo’s deep voice sounded the best when he was distressed.

"Mingyu!" Wonwoo was yelling for his lover. "Mingyu stand up! Get your filthy hands off of him!" he bit at the soldiers.

Wonwoo, even though smaller in size, put up a hell of a fight. He drew his arms together, managing to hit the two knights that were holding him and he tried to get to Mingyu. But there were too many enemies, even a trained knight like Wonwoo couldn't keep them all away. Bogum rubbed his hands together as he watched them restraining him, four of them this time, two holding his arms and two his legs.

 _What a sight,_ Bogum licked his lips.

Wonwoo _still_ didn't stop resisting, especially when the footman managed to look up again.

"Wonwoo get out of here, please, just leave me and run, you have a chance!" he cried and a knight hit him on the cheek, splitting his lip.

"No Mingyu I won't leave you." the knight successfully broke from the soldiers with sheer willpower. He kneeled in front of the footman taking his face in his hands, a sweet smile on his face, tears running from his eyes. "If you go down then I go down with you."

"Can you shut up already?" Bogum furiously entered through the hole, enraged at the affection.

Wonwoo gaped at him and Mingyu glared.

"You!" the footman screamed, blood dripping from his lips.

If he wasn't tied up and restrained, Bogum might have felt afraid. Maybe the first footman _could_ act imposing after all.

The shock of his entrance gave the knights their third chance to grab Wonwoo, this time punching him both in the face and on the ribs. Wonwoo's thin body would break easily if they kept this up.

"Bogum you piece of shit!" Wonwoo roared, taking every hit with more and more pain.

Bogum smiled at him.

"You finally show your true colours, Wonwoo. You've been so polite to me all this time, I was a little impressed."

"You will pay for this Bogum. I will hunt you for all your life and after. I will see you in hell. Mark my words." Wonwoo growled deep as the soldiers dragged them back to the palace.

"Tsk, tsk so aggressive. Were you that aggressive with your little footman here too?" he asked.

Resisting was pointless at this point. Wonwoo was pulled up by two knights, away from Mingyu. His body was limp, tears in his eyes. The footman was crying too, even though he had received less damage.

"I will love seeing you rotting in the prison." Bogum snickered evilly. "Take them away!" he ordered.

He stood to the side, watching them proudly. Finally, months of hard work were paying off. Now he could finally sleep peacefully, without stupid Wonwoo occupying his head all the time.

After the other knights, he exited too. He looked back at the old hospital one last time. Maybe they should burn this useless building down. He made a mental note to suggest it to general Jihoon.

After twenty minutes, the unit arrived at the palace. The soldiers dragged the couple to the army's building. At their arrival, all the building woke up from their yells. It was music to Bogum’s ears. Soon enough, most of the knights were gathered on the ground floor, watching as the two lovers were dragged below the earth to the dark cells. Most of them were shocked, not having any idea what these two were guilty for.

Oh how much Bogum would enjoy informing them.

Unfortunately, Wen Junhui had finished his duty and was exiting one of the offices when he saw Wonwoo and Mingyu wounded, soldiers on each side of them. He paled considerably at the sight in front of him, nightmarish shock painted on his features. That’s what he deserved for covering for vile people. Bogum couldn’t help at snicker at him.

The sound grabbed Junhui’s attention. "You?" he barked, when his eyes landed on Bogum.

"Oh, hello there.” Bogum waved at him. “Too bad you weren't with them today. It seems like you are going to get out of any punishment... But it's ok, you get to see them die." he smirked and tried to pass by Junhui to go get some well-deserved sleep.

Junhui's eyes shifted. They became dark and unfriendly, terrifying in their sharpness. Before Bogum could react, he grabbed him from the neck with the force of a hundred lions and pinned him against the wall.

"You messed with the wrong people Bogum. If they die... you'll regret it. I will strangle you with my own two hands, I will bury you in the earth." Junhui growled.

Bogum's eyes bulged. That stupid man. He surely wouldn't dare do anything, with literally every knight on the palace on guard... would he?

He looked feral. His words had been slurred together and aggressive, unlike the airy tone he usually assumed when he spoke. Suddenly, Wen Junhui's accent didn't seem all that funny anymore.

"Y-you wouldn't-" he began, but the Chinese knight banged his head against the wall.

"Try me." Junhui hissed and tightened his hold on his neck, cutting all his air supply.

Bogum coughed. He had never seen that look on Junhui's eyes, that absolute madness. He clenched his hands even tighter, causing Bogum's eyes to roll back. _Is this it?_ he thought panicked as black spots appeared on his vision.

" _Jun!_ " he faintly heard another voice.

" _Jun stop it!_ " the voice sounded again. He was speaking in some other language that Bogum couldn't understand.

"Yanan leave me alone. He brought this to himself." Junhui answered back, making sure his words were in a language Bogum could understand and fear.

With his oxygen rapidly depleting, everything was starting to become fuzzy for Bogum. He was beyond terrified, his adrenaline to the max, but there was no escape from this.

Suddenly, there was some struggling in front of him. Someone was trying to pull the beast called Wen Junhui away from him. Bogum dared look up, only to see another person, taller than both of them trying to get Junhui to let go.

"Jun, come on, you're not the same person you were back then! I won't let you get punished for something like this!" the tall boy said urgently.

Junhui's hold started loosening up. Air came back to Bogum's lungs, who fell on the ground trying to return to his senses.

Junhui slowly turned to look at the person who had saved Bogum. He was trembling with anger.

"Yanan." Junhui breathed.

"Take deep breaths and calm down." Yanan said grabbing his shoulders and getting to eye level. "I'm here for you." he continued soothingly.

Bogum glared at them as he rubbed his neck. Who knew that this stupid Chinese knight had problems with his anger. He hadn't foreseen that, and it had almost cost him his life.

"You..." Bogum tried to say, only to be cut by a sudden cough.

The other boy, Yanan, approached him and grabbed him by his shirt.

"Get lost." he said sharply. "If you dare say anything..." he glared.

Bogum slapped his hand away.

"I won't. I don't care about you. Just stay out of my way, both of you." he croaked and stumbled inside the building, getting as much distance between himself and Wen Junhui as possible.

It didn’t matter what Junhui, or anyone else did now. Wonwoo was as good as dead, and Bogum was alive, ready to enjoy the rest of his life in peace. He had won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL.....  
> That, was... umm something, I guess.
> 
> Really difficult huh? What do you think?  
> We REALLY want to know what's your opinion about the turn of the events, so we're looking forward to your comments. 
> 
> AGAIN, I puncuate the fact about the warnings, okay! Those who come from TheGardenFair know how her writting style works. The same applies with mine. So I really hope that you will continue following our boys in this long journey.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you nexy week, same day <333
> 
> Until the next updaye; take care, have fun and stay healthy.
> 
> -SkWh


	12. Don't leave me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooo peopleeeeee!!!
> 
> This is the moment that all have been waiting for!!!
> 
> Today I won't talk at all. No clarifications, no warnings!
> 
> So without any ado..........
> 
> Enjoy~~~~~

Junhui heaved frustrated, adrenaline still racing in his veins even though Bogum was now out of sigh.

Yanan huffed and turned towards him. "Junhui. What happened?" he asked, using their mother language.

"Wonwoo... and Mingyu..." Junhui said dejected.

"I saw they arrested them? What did they do?" Yanan asked, concern obvious in his tone.

Junhui’s lower lip wobbled, his anger not quite satisfied yet. "They were like Yifan and Zitao, Yanan..." he explained, feeling his voice break. "I was helping them... You know I had to. If I didn't, nobody would." he kept talking, all his distress turning into despair.

Yanan inhaled shocked. "But Junhui they... they're gonna kill them!" he said, panicked eyes darting.

"I know. That's why I have to warn the prince. I don't have too much time." Junhui murmured, shuffling towards the exit. He heard Yanan following him, protests falling from his lips in an attempt to save him. But Junhui couldn’t stay. He had sworn he would protect Wonwoo and Mingyu, and he had failed. Now he had to pay the price.

“Junhui please. Stop for a second and _think_.” Yanan pleaded, his strong hand coming to halt Junhui on his tracks.

Junhui inhaled deeply. His head was running wild, cogs twisting unstoppably to help him find a solution. But nothing worked. Junhui couldn’t do _anything,_ not without Minghao. Not without the prince. With a long sigh he turned around to face his best friend, the person that Junhui had put his trust and life in his hands all those years ago.

"My dear Yanan… I need you to do me a favor." he trailed softly, taking the other’s hand in his own.

Yanan’s lips tightened. He was clearly contemplating on what to do. After a small pause he sighed, straightening his back. "I'm listening."

"Watch them for me please. I will try to find a way to solve this mess, but it will take me some time. Until then, please be my eyes and my ears in there. I want to know everything, even the slightest detail. If something urgent happens inform me right away, alright?" Junhui practically begged his friend.

Yanan sighed again and hugged him tightly. "Of course." he said. "I don't know why talking to the prince will help, but please be careful okay?" he mumbled.

All the times that Junhui had got in trouble in the past, Yanan was always there; willingly helping him through. And just like all those times before, he again stood by Junhui’s side. No matter the cause.

"I will. Thank you so much. For everything." Junhui smiled bitterly and kissed his friend’s hands. With that, and without thinking twice, he dashed inside the castle and towards Minghao's private room.

All the commotion had woken some servants up, so the palace wasn't as quiet as Junhui had expected. Not that he cared. He barged through the door and ran upstairs, passing some servants on his way. Yells and scoffs accompanied him, as he hit and banged on people on his way up. But Junhui couldn’t care less. He had more urgent matters in his hands. Within one minute, he reached Minghao's door and started banging on it.

"Minghao! Wake up!" he yelled.

"Excuse me sir!" a servant approached him immediately. "What do you think you're doing at the prince's private chambers?!"

Junhui ignored him, not even sparing a glance as he kept hitting the door.

"Minghao please wake up!" he yelled again, desperation tangling in his voice.

"Excuse me, I will call a knight if you don't leave immediately!" the servant said, but before Junhui could send him to hell, the door cracked open.

"Junhui what- what are you doing here? What happened?" Minghao mumbled, rubbing his eye.

"Minghao, they found them." Junhui said in Mandarin, and that was enough to wake the young prince.

~*~

Minghao’s face contracted in shock, every trace of sleep stripped off his body. "What?" he said dumbfounded.

"My prince." the servant called and bowed deeply. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes, everything is fine you can leave now." the prince shooed the servant away, not taking his eyes off Junhui.

"Minghao, they found Wonwoo and Mingyu. They arrested them. They are gonna kill them!" the Chinese breathed anxiously, keeping the language that only the two of them understood.

Minghao grabbed his wrist, dragging him inside his room. The door was closed behind Junhui with a loud bang, as the prince pushed him towards his bed.

"Sit. Explain." Minghao said sternly, obviously refusing to lose his cool.

His best friend's life might be depending on it.

Junhui started trembling. He seemed angry, no furious. He was scared, terrified of what was happening to their two friends right now. He then looked inside Minghao's eyes and that's when all came crushing down. Tears started escaping his eyes, whimpers leaving his pink lips and sobs wrecking his ribcage. He tried speaking, but no words came out, only shaky breaths.

“The- they… Minghao I-” he kept trying.

Minghao looked at him, his mouth opening a little. Then his eyes softened, dark orbs shifting with compassion. He sighed quietly, walking between Junhui's legs and wrapped his arms around his head. He patted him gently on the head, messing up his sweaty hair.

"Please calm down..." he said in Mandarin. "We need to do something, it's not too late yet." he added softly.

Junhui pushed his forehead against Minghao's stomach, unable to stop the tears. "It's all my fault. Mine, mine, mine." he ranted between his sobs. "I-I should have kept Wonwoo here. Or I should have snuck out with them t-too... I was supposed to _protect_ them, but… but I-I failed. And now they arrested them, because of m-me."

"What are you talking about? You're the reason they haven't been arrested this long in the first place." the prince said. "I told Mingyu, I told him! They shouldn't have gone out alone. They had gotten too confident." Minghao clenched both his teeth and Junhui's hair.

"It was that shithead. Bogum." Junhui spat with venom in his tone.

Minghao gave him a few seconds to collect himself again, by taking deep breaths until he could form proper sentences again. "I believe that Bogum saw them sneaking out and followed them. When he found out he came back to rat them out." Junhui started explaining.

"Bogum. Tsk, why did I only hear about him _today_?" Minghao said, and seeing that Junhui could hold himself together, he stepped away towards his window "Continue." he urged the knight.

"I don't know much. I saw them when they brought them in. They were taking them to the dungeon." Junhui sighed wiping his eyes furiously. "When I realized what has happened, I immediately ran here. And I would have come earlier but I had something to arrange first." he continued.

"What? What is that something?" Minghao asked, half curious, half worried.

"Let's just say that Bogum won't bother us anymore..." Junhui mustered a weak smirk.

"What did you do Junhui? Did you get in trouble as well?" Minghao was ready to scold him.

"Nothing much. I just caused him a severe breathing problem." Junhui shrugged. "He was lucky that Yanan found us. He would be dead otherwise." he added.

Minghao eyed him wirily but nodded. "We have to do something." he said "We have to do something, before I lose it. If they die..." he trailed off, not completing his sentence.

"What's on your mind?" Junhui asked, approaching the window as well.

Minghao would later blame it on the high levels of emotional distress and the lack of sleep, but watching Junhui stand behind him, ready to listen, ready to understand him, broke a dam inside him.

"It's this _stupid_ castle Junhui! It is so suffocating. I’ve always said I wanted to get out of here and Mingyu readily agreed, but he never understood what it felt like to be trapped in fancy prison until he met Wonwoo. I asked Soonyoung, our steward once; what are we living for, how does any of this means anything. He said that there need to be rules, and there need to be rulers and that _I'm_ supposed to be one of them. But look at me now, my best friend is getting ready to be killed and I'm here doing absolutely _nothing_! I'm sick of it! I never managed to do anything as a prince, all this _power_ I'm supposed to have is completely useless!" he slammed his fist on the glass "If we're going to save them, there's no way I'm doing it as a prince."

Junhui’s gaze was locked outside, his face serious. He didn’t say anything for a while, what was there to say? It made Minghao realize that he _understood._

"Then let's get them out of there. You and me. Not as a knight and a prince, but as two people that love their friends so much, that they will break every rule for them. Let's bail them out Minghao, let's give them the freedom they need. The freedom _we_ need." Junhui said determined.

Minghao felt his chest flare up with desire at those words. He could... leave? Just like that? It hadn’t occurred to him that such an option was even feasible, not until Junhui spoke it into existence. There were a million things getting in the way of realizing this option, but… it was so tempting.

"We will be on the run forever." he tried to quell the uprising of his excitement.

"True. But we will be out of here. No rules to break our hearts. To force us apart. To force Mingyu and Wonwoo apart." Junhui sighed. "Minghao listen, I will be honest. Help me get them out and if you want you can stay... I will go with them though, I have to. Now I own them more, since I failed at protecting them. I might as well owe them my life." he continued.

Minghao really couldn't think straight. Everything inside him screamed to drop everything and follow his new friends. It was wrong, it was illegal, his reputation would be tarnished forever and he would be marked as a traitor. And that was _if_ only they managed to break their friends out of prison, which incidentally, wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. But hadn't Mingyu told him that maybe some things he was raised to believe were wrong actually weren't?

"I can't let Mingyu die. I can't let him go alone." was his final answer, glancing outside again. His eyes fell on the storage room and the now too familiar part of the wall behind it. No Minghao couldn’t let Mingyu and Wonwoo die. Not after everything they had faced.

Junhui smirked then, his anger finally quenched at the prospect of freedom. "Let's find a plan then. Let's do it." he breathed.

~*~

The next morning didn’t take long to come. The sun began to rise, bathing the earth in its warm light. It was a beautiful spring day. The universe didn't care about mere mortals' problems. No matter what happened last night, or would happen the next day, no matter who lived or died, the sun would continue rising like it did everyday for hundreds of years. 

At some point during their long night, Minghao and Junhui had lain down on the bed side by side. They had finally reached a conclusion, organizing a makeshift plan about their escape. It was extremely reckless and highly dangerous. If it was up to Minghao, they would go over it a million more times trying to perfect it. But they just didn't have time. The longer they took to rescue their two friends, the more danger they were in.

Junhui had insisted to wait for his friend Yanan's letter to inform them about the situation inside the army's building before they proceeded. They had both agreed it was too dangerous for the Junhui to get out of the castle now, as everyone knew Wonwoo and he were friends. If anything suspicious happened, all eyes would be on him.

So they stayed inside Minghao's room all night, running over and over every possible way they could get caught and punished, or even executed along with the two lovers. There were too many possibilities for Minghao’s liking. They squeezed their brains, creating smaller plans and scenarios if their original one failed them.

At some point, Junhui drifted off to sleep, his head falling on a prince’s cushions and his body curling like one of a cat’s. Minghao wasn't as lucky though. He did lie down next to the other, but he could find no rest. As the early light started illuminating his room in a bluish hue, his tired eyes were still open, more awake than ever.

It hadn’t been long since Junhui had passed out. Barely two hours. All the stress and the crying had worn him out. Minghao sighed, he had to wake the knight up. They had an extremely long day ahead of them and a ridiculously small amount of time. He exhaled and rolled on his side, facing Junhui. Minghao looked at his face. His eyebrows were drawn together, revealing that even in his sleep the knight was anxious and afraid.

Minghao's eyes scanned Junhui's characteristics. His long, nose and equally prominent adam's apple. His rosy lips with the two small spots that decorated each upper side of them. His lashes, which casted tiny shadows on his high cheek bones, making him seem almost ethereal. Chocolate brown bangs were falling lightly on his forehead and his sharp jawline was proudly shown.

Minghao dared to think that the knight was actually really handsome. With his playful eyes that were always inviting Minghao, challenging him. The prince bit his lip. It was really a pity that he had to disturb such a beautiful face, bringing back it’s stressed and scared façade from last night. But they had to move on. They couldn’t afford slacking off.

"Junhui." he called simply.

It was all it took for him to open his eyes. Clearly, he hadn't been able to sleep properly either. He blinked a few times to chase any remaining traces of sleep away and focused his eyes on Minghao.

"Chan will be here in a while to wake me up. I'll talk to him then." the prince continued.

"Alright. I will help you." Junhui nodded his head, shuffling up from Minghao’s bed.

Not a minute after they had woken up, a knock was heard on the door.

Of course, Chan didn't expect Minghao to answer as the prince was usually sleeping, so he quietly opened the door, carrying a tray of tea. His face looked hard, a frown gracing his usually cheerful characteristics.

The valet halted in his steps as he saw Minghao not only awake, but also with company.

"Hyu- Your highness?" Chan asked confused. "Why are you awake, who is this?" the valet glared at the intruder.

"Chan please sit down, I have to talk to you." Minghao said seriously, not waiting further than necessary. "This is Junhui. He is a friend."

The Minghao from two months ago would have facepalmed if he ever called Junhui a friend. But circumstances have changed now.

"I guess you have heard what happened then..." Chan said, sitting on the chair beside the prince's bed. “Did you know about all this?”

Minghao tried to evaluate Chan's position in this mess. It had taken Minghao himself a week to get over Mingyu's romantic interests, would Chan be more mature than he was?

"I know. I've known for a while actually." Minghao mumbled biting his lips "You understand why I couldn't tell you, right?"

"Hyung I understand. Honestly, I have mixed feelings and my mind is all over the place now, but I understand. But hyung." Chan started tearing up. "Mingyu hyung... Not Mingyu hyung. Not after Seungkwan hyung. That's too much." the small valet said, biting his wobbly lip.

"Oh my god Chan please don't cry." Minghao said, rubbing his eyes to stop his own tears. "If you cry, I will cry too, and I have to talk to you." he explained.

He felt Junhui's hand clutching the corner of his shirt, remind him that he wasn't alone in this.

"I'm sorry hyung but please. Why death? I understand it is illegal but why execution?" the valet cried. Hot fat tears fell from the corner of his eyes. Chan was so broken when the news about Seungkwan had arrived. And now one more member of their little company was threatened to follow the royal clothier. It was indeed, too much. "Please tell me you can do something. Please." Chan whispered desperately.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Minghao composed himself, focusing on his goal. "I wish we could speak more about this. I know you are confused, surprised and I don't even know what else, that Mingyu actually _was_ with Wonwoo. Remember how we teased him?" he chuckled humorlessly. "But there is no time. I have to get him out."

"Do you have a plan? Can I help? I know what Mingyu hyung did was forbidden by our laws. But he is my hyung and I want to save him." Chan said, wiping his eyes determined. Minghao noticed that he completely ignored the fact that Mingyu was indeed having a relationship with the knight, choosing to stay at the important part of the conversation.

"He is so cute." Junhui said quietly in Mandarin from behind the prince.

Minghao smiled at him fondly. He found himself wishing that he had introduced Junhui and Wonwoo to Chan earlier. _You would have gotten along great with him_ , Minghao thought but didn't speak to Junhui out loud.

"Okay, first of all, one thing I am adamant about is that _you_ of all people can't get into trouble." Minghao said sternly and paused.

How could he tell Chan that both him and Mingyu were leaving him behind? Even if it was to save the footman's life?

"Chan... remember those earrings you and Mingyu got me at my birthday?" he asked with a sad smile.

"Yeah I remember. Mingyu hyung and I bought them for you, and we wished you to achieve your dream of travelling around the country someday." the valet smiled fondly at the memory.

"Well," the prince tried to say it as positively as possible, "it seems that it's finally time to realize that dream." he said simply

Chan gapped at him. "What? Wait? Are you... are you leaving too?" he gasped.

"Channie, we went into this mess together." Minghao sighed "And together we have to get out of it. You are still young, you can still make a future for yourself here. Mingyu can't. And I can't too. You know that."

"But hyung I'm your valet! Your personal servant! Shouldn't I come with you?!" Chan protested.

"No Chan. I know you're happy here, you can't throw it all away for me." Minghao replied immediately. He would never put Chan in danger like this. "Besides... Soonyoung hyung wouldn't make it if all of us suddenly disappeared after Seungkwan. And you're his favourite." he pointed out diplomatically.

Chan tried to say something, but after some consideration he closed his mouth and nodded. "Alright..." he sighed and sniffed. “I can’t leave Soonyoung hyung alone.”

Minghao looked at his young valet carefully. How much he had grown. He understood the situation, he accepted it much quicker than Minghao himself would ever hope to. Even if the prince felt bad about leaving him behind, he knew that Chan would be alright. He was strong, and the palace, every servant, all their friends needed that strength.

"I am proud of you Channie." he said, smiling. "Thanks for understanding."

"Thank you hyung. I'm proud of you too." Chan said, struggling to smile back.

"Minghao the plan." Junhui whispered to the prince.

"Right. I'm gonna need your help Chan. If everything goes well, this will be the last time." Minghao straightened his back

Chan mimicked him. "I'm all ears tell me what to do."

~*~

_‘They took them to the cells below the army building. General Jihoon hasn't stepped foot down there, but Bogum keeps visiting them all the time. General asked for you, but we told him that Wonwoo was your friend and that you needed a little time to recover from what has happened. He will ask for you again at night. I've volunteered for the first shift to guard them. There are knights at the hall in front of the cells, but not next to each individual one. Your friends don't talk much, but when they do it's really heartbreaking. I want to tell them that everything is going to be alright, but I’m not allowed to talk._

_Please be careful Jun, I've worked hard to keep you out of prison all these years but I'm not sure I can help this time.’_

Minghao read the letter Chan had delivered to them straight from the army's building for the nth time. Junhui’s friend, Yanan was a big advantage. His letter helped them improve some parts of their plan, giving them a good glimpse of the inside. It was clear that he loved Junhui dearly, being concerned about his safety above everything.

Minghao hadn’t thought of it previously, but apparently Junhui would also leave behind people he cherished and loved. He took a look at the knight, who was sitting on a chair in front of the window again.

"What are you going to do with him, _Jun_?" he asked, pointing the inked paper in his hands.

Junhui turned his head towards the prince. His eyes showed that he was feeling conflicted. After all, Yanan was the first person that accepted and made friends with him, Minghao remembered that.

"I was wondering if I could write him back. I have to explain things to him... I owe him half of my life." Junhui smiled bitterly.

"We can leave a letter to Chan. After things settle down, he can give it to your friend." Minghao proposed, earning back a small nod from the knight.

"Thank you Minghao..." he said softly, turning his head towards the window again.

Time was passing excruciatingly slow. They were just sitting around anxiously, with nothing better to do until the sun set, until their plan was set into motion. Junhui indeed wrote his letter, giving it to Chan when he passed to bring them food. He also gave them some bags he found in the basement, so they could carry some supplies. They couldn't take much with them, just the necessary to pass the first couple of days.

With that detail covered, Minghao dug inside his closet, taking out four dark cloaks. It was the only piece of clothing they would take with them. Everything else they had to buy it outside of town.

That was the last thing they would have to take from the palace. Money. Minghao placed the bag of coins he had taken from the castle's treasure room on the table. The pouch was full of gold, some of the few the kingdom still had, after the encounter with the pirates.

Minghao's consciousness screamed that what they were planning was extremely dangerous. If they were caught, they could end up having the same destiny as Wonwoo and Mingyu. He sighed in distress as he was preparing their bags. Chan had also provided them with two lanterns and flint stones. Minghao placed every item neatly inside, checking them out of his mental list. Everything was there, except food and water. The kitchen was the first destination on their plan.

"Are you alright?" Junhui asked the prince. He was sitting on the floor sharpening his sword.

Minghao heaved a sigh. "Are you sure you don't need anything?" he asked instead, avoiding the question.

Junhui couldn't return to the army's building. General Jihoon was looking for him, so that meant that he would have to leave everything behind, apart from the few things he carried with him during last night's patrol. Thankfully, that included his sword, the one with the red ribbon Minghao had seen so many times during their escapades.

"No I don't." the knight said putting the sword back to its sheath. "I should leave my armor back too I guess..." he trailed off as he began undoing the strings that kept his breastplate on its place.

"Woah, what are you doing?" Minghao said and put his hands on his eyes, taken aback at the other’s sudden boldness.

"What I just said; I'm leaving my armor here. I can't take it with me, it will be too troublesome." Junhui explained, taking the breastplate and the tasset off.

Luckily for Minghao the knight was wearing clothes underneath. A plain white shirt was loosely hanging on his waist together with a brown pair of fabric breeches. One by one the parts of his armor were peeled off his body, revealing more fabric.

At some point he groaned, catching Minghao’s attention. “What is it?” the prince asked.

"Can you please help me? There's a small buckle at the back side of my gorget. Can you undo it for me? My palms are sweaty and I can't reach it properly." he sighed.

Minghao nodded, walking forward. "You're keeping your sword, right?" he asked as he shuffled behind the knight. He fumbled with the buckle a bit, his own fingers trembling from the building adrenaline, but he managed to undo it.

Junhui let a sigh of relief, shifting a little as he removed the last armor part off his body. "Of course I will. I have to protect you, right?" he said as he fumbled with the shirt's too deep collar.

Minghao sat on the bed, putting his head on his hand. "I hope it will be enough for tonight..." he mumbled.

"Are you doubting my skills? You of all people. I'm hurt." Junhui tried to joke.

Minghao sighed, not able to laugh at a time like this. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, maybe he should have slept last night after all. He wondered how Mingyu and Wonwoo were doing. Were they scared? Of course they must have been. They believed they were going to die, and from Yanan's letter it seemed they weren't handling it very well.

A knock was heard, bringing him back to reality. Minghao stood and opened the door.

"Everything is alright in here? Are your things ready?" Chan asked anxiously, as he emerged inside.

Minghao perked up at his friend's presence. He looked so worried, but his will to help Minghao in any way he could never faltered. Minghao was going to miss Chan a lot.

"We're good. We're managing." he said with a small smile

"I'm glad." the valet smiled back.

Minghao took a look at the wooden clock besides the door. It was midnight.

"It's time..." Junhui said simply, placing a hand on the prince’s shoulder.

Minghao felt his heart speeding up with anticipation. It felt like when he first learned how to ride a horse. He had been so anxious about getting on top of one. He had felt like his heart was going to explode once he was next to the animal, moments before he faced his fear.

It was the same as now. All the waiting, all the worry and fear that accumulated inside of him all day, was now at maximum level. He just had to take a leap of faith and hope that everything would turn out okay.

Junhui caught the prince's sudden mood change. He looked and him and smiled warmly, squeezing his shoulder tightly. He tried to assure Minghao that everything was going to be fine, that they would successfully free their friends. Minghao looked back at him and after a small approving nod, they began.

They quickly wore the cloaks and placed the bags on their shoulders. Junhui adjusted his belt, on which his sword was hanging, sharpened and ready to defend them. Just before they lined up, Minghao walked towards to his dress table one last time. He opened a small velvet box, revealing the most precious jewels he had on his position; Mingyu’s and Chan’s birthday gift. With quick moves he placed the green stones on his ears, choosing them as the one and only thing to connect him with his previous life.

When he was finally ready he returned at Junhui’s side, waving at Chan who peeked his head out to make sure that no one was passing by.

"All clear." he whispered and shuffled out of the room.

"Ready?" Junhui asked the prince one last time.

If they started now, there was no way back.

"Let's do it." Minghao replied and the both exited the prince’s room.

Minghao mentally waved goodbye to every corridor they passed through. It was not like he was ever going to see them again, regardless of their escape's success. It was a pity he didn't have time to look at his mother's chambers one last time, but they didn't have time. Mingyu's life was more important than his feeble emotions.

So, one final time, they walked the castle's corridors, but not to make a temporary outing. This was a permanent escape.

He traced his hand on the railing of the grand staircase, reminiscing all the times he had run up and down on his castle. He would never forget how they had tricked Soonyoung at his evaluation day. They were leaving now, so he would never get to tell him what had really happened that day. Perhaps it was for the best.

That thought didn't last for too long though. The trio ran downstairs quickly. According to the plan, their first stop was the kitchen, where they would get the remaining supplies. So, when they reached the ground floor, they quietly made a bee line towards that room. Chan opened the door carefully and they all slipped in.

"Chan? What are you-?"a voiced was heard, scaring the hell out of them.

Two screams echoed through the walls and a sword was pulled. Soonyoung was in the kitchen, looking dumbfounded at the three of them.

"Turn back, turn back!" the valet panicked but it was too late.

Soonyoung caught his arms and stared at the other two behind him.

"Chan, your highness. What in the name of lord are you doing out at this hour? And who are you?" Soonyoung asked with a frown, glaring towards Junhui.

Chan started stuttering trying to find an excuse, which didn’t work in his favor. Junhui looked at Minghao uncertainly. The prince sighed. It seemed it was up to him to deal with the situation.

"No, what are _you_ doing here hyung? At this hour? Don't you need your beauty sleep?" he asked, clenching his fists.

_Great, the plan is ruined, and it hasn’t even start yet._

Soonyoung eyed him curiously. "Do you think that losing two of my little ducklings is leaving room for sleep?" he asked, folding his arms in front of his chest. His voice was tensed, as if a string was ready to snap at any minute. It would have been scary, had they not been preparing to face something even more scarier.

"Exactly. We couldn't sleep either. But now that the kitchen is occupied, I guess we should go back and leave you alone." Minghao said and subtly pushed Junhui back outside.

But apparently the steward wasn't buying anything this time. "Now hold on just a minute." he said strictly. "Do you actually think I will believe that you are here because you were unable to rest? I will ask again. Who is that and why are you wearing those cloaks?" he demanded.

"Hyung, can you please stay out of this?" Minghao spoke sternly. "I order you as your prince."

"No Minghao I can't! First, I lost Seungkwan. Now I'm losing Mingyu! I won't just stay back letting you kill yourselves too." Soonyoung raised his voice. "I'm not stupid, I know what you’re trying to do. You're going on a rescue mission, aren't you?"

Minghao opened his mouth, no words coming out. This was no time to hesitate. Mingyu's life was on the line. If he had to hurt Soonyoung's feelings to save his friend, then so be it.

_There is always a reason behind an action. Don't be so heartless,_ he remembered Junhui words. Junhui was right behind him, finally supporting him. Was it too late to finally follow his advice?

"Hyung, I can't let Mingyu die!" he decided to go with honesty. "Can you? Can you really stand back and let Mingyu die? Are you this kind of person?"

Soonyoung groaned. "What do you want me to do?! Let you go like that in the lion's den?" he said.

"Hyung..." Chan mumbled as well. "I know this is weird, that you're not used to what he did but... does he really deserve to die?" he asked, looking at him straight in the eyes

Soonyoung gapped at the valet’s straightforwardness. Minghao watched the battle unravel in Soonyoung eyes. Brain encountering heart. Logic fighting emotion. The steward’s eyes shifted under the deem light of the lanterns. And maybe… maybe they had a chance after all.

"Take what you need now. You don't have time." he said.

"What?" Minghao asked, clearly not expecting that answer.

"I said take what you came for. I'm guessing it’s food and water, right? Come on, move your feet." he urged, and he approached the cupboards, starting to look for food.

"What just happened?" Junhui whispered.

"When luck strikes, it's better not to question it. Soonyoung hyung had always been unpredictable." Minghao said and rushed in the kitchen behind Chan.

The four of them searched around, opening cupboards and drawers. They found some loaves of bread, cheese, tomatoes and olives. Chan and Junhui filled four big flasks with clean water from a pot that Seokjin stored at the back of the kitchen. In less than five minutes, all the needed supplies were gathered and placed inside the bags.

"Do you need anything else?" Soonyoung asked Minghao.

"No. Now we have all that we need." the prince answered.

"Alright then. Follow me." the steward said and exited the kitchen, leaving the other three staring at each other dumbfounded.

~*~

A few hundred meters away, below the earth, there was no rush of excitement, no worry about one's life and no hope.

Mingyu was sitting at his cell with his eyes closed, counting his heartbeats and trying to make peace with himself. There were a million things to think now that the initial panic had subsided, and an accepting calmness has spread all over him.

He thought of his friends first, that was the easiest part. He hoped Minghao got over his death easily. He didn't want to burden him anymore than he already had. He would definitely make a great king one day. Chan would be by his side, a loyal valet, keeping him company. They would grow closer without him, and maybe one day, Minghao could explain what happened between him and Wonwoo. He hoped it would give Chan a closure and an apology that he himself wouldn't be able to deliver.

Soonyoung would have to replace him. He knew the steward would do it with a heavy heart, he was emotional like that. But if he managed to overcome Seungkwan's death, then Mingyu would be easier. He made a mental note to mention to Seungkwan how much everyone missed him, if he ever saw him up there. Life at the palace would continue. Seokjin would cook, Taehyung, the second footman, would probably take his place. He hoped they wouldn't end up remembering him with disgust.

He also liked to think that Junhui would keep contact with Minghao, but he knew that it was unlikely. At least he had Yanan. Yeah, everyone would be alright, he decided.

But his friends' possible futures could only occupy his mind for so long. He was going to die, and he _wasn't_ ready. He had so much to live for, now more than ever. He couldn’t die, he just couldn’t. Once he felt the panic bubble up again, he let out a cry.

"Wonwoo?"

"Yes Mingyu?" Wonwoo breathed from behind the wall.

"I'm scared again." the footman said, wrapping his arms around himself. What was this, the tenth time he had called out to Wonwoo in fear? He had lost count by now. "I want to go home. With you."

Wonwoo let out a shaky breath. "I know love. I want that too. But hey, I just thought of something. Didn't we always want to leave this place? Why don't you think of it like that hm? We are going somewhere better. Together." Wonwoo spoke, his voice hoarse from his own stress.

Mingyu closed his eyes trying to imagine the scenario Wonwoo was talking about. It could turn out okay. Mingyu was determined to stay with Wonwoo, even in the afterlife. But would they even be allowed their love there? The truth was, he had no idea what was waiting for them on the other side, and that was what scared him more than anything.

"Hey," he said after a while, "can you do me a favour?"

"Whatever you wish. Tell me.” the other said.

"Can you... Can you move?" Mingyu bit his lips. "Can you sit with your back at the wall towards my cell? At the edge of the room, next to the bars?"

"For you I can go to the end of the world." Wonwoo answered and scooted closer to the iron bars, leaning his back on the stone wall.

Mingyu did the same. "I'm right behind you." he said closing his eyes again, imagining Wonwoo next to him. "I'm not going anywhere yeah? We're in this together."

"We are. I know." Wonwoo sighed and slipped his hand out of the lower part of the cell's bars. "Come on. Give me your hand." he coaxed sweetly.

Mingyu complied and when their hands connected, he felt the usual warmth he received every time he touched Wonwoo shoot up his arm. He didn’t want to have to let go of this, but he knew they were going to make him. It hurt.

"D-don't be scared yeah?" Mingyu said with a shaky voice. "I-if this our last night together, I don't want you to be sad."

"I'm actually the luckiest man alive." Wonwoo smiled truly as those words left his lips. He started rubbing his thumb on the footman's knuckles. He traced every small work scar that Mingyu's hands had. "I’m lucky that I met you and we went on this journey together. If… if I have to leave this world, I’m glad it is for this reason. Thank you Mingyu. I love you so much." the knight whispered, and he interwove they fingers.

"I-I wish it had lasted longer..." Mingyu said honestly.

There were so many things that they would never get to experience. They had so little time together, so few precious moments… Mingyu couldn’t let them go to waste.

"I want to say whatever I still haven't told you. You need to hear it." he tightened his grip on his lover and took a deep breath. "I was always such a naive child. I trailed behind Minghao like a lost puppy, and I still can't believe how long it took me to realize it. But I met you and you changed that. Even from the beginning, when we were only friends, when I was with you it felt like I had finally found someone to grow up with, shed all my fears away and try to improve. I can't help but imagine how we could have been in the future..." Mingyu felt silent tears streaming down his face as he continued.

"I wish we could have eternity. I wish we would have traveled the world, I wish I could cook for you spicy paprika pork feet again, I wish you could teach me how to swim... hell, I wish there could be a future in which I married you. I... didn't want to tell you that before, it would be weird, but I need you to hear it now. I love you and I don't want to die with any regrets towards you. Even if I went back to beginning, if I knew we would end up like this, I would still have chosen you." Mingyu finally said what had been on his mind all along.

Suddenly Mingyu's hand started trembling. Wonwoo was shaking, wrecked sobs escaping his bruised lips. "Just so you know..." he cried out. "I would have definitely said yes." he sobbed.

Mingyu wished he could hug him. He wished he could kiss him one last time. But sitting on the opposite sides of a cell wall was all they have been allowed in this life as their last moments.

"T-thank you." he said simply, holding onto his hand as tightly as he could as his own tears continued to fall.

Wonwoo continued sobbing but Mingyu knew he had needed to hear those words. Even during their last moments, Wonwoo would have never been able to find the proper words to describe his feelings. Mingyu wanted him to be at peace too.

They didn't say anything else for a long while. Wonwoo cried his eyes out, until there were no more tears. Mingyu's hand had begun hurting from being stretched in such an awkward angle for this long, but he would never dream of letting Wonwoo go. In a few hours, he would never get to hold his hand again.

When silence was all that filled the cell rooms again, Mingyu felt calm again. The fear has been pushed back for a few more hours, until it would inevitably resurface. He took a deep breath. "Do you... Do you think we are going to heaven?" he asked casually.

"Heaven, hell, honesty it doesn't matter for me. As long as we are together there." Wonwoo answered, his voice even more hoarse than before due to all this crying.

"You're definitely going to heaven though. So if we stay together, I think we will be alright." Mingyu decided.

“If one of us goes to heaven, it is definitely you. Your soul is much kinder than mine.” came the reply.

Mingyu smiled to the wall and closed his eyes. “You make me want to be kind.”

Wonwoo sighed deeply. Mingyu knew that if they were not here right now, if they were back in their garden facing each other’s heart instead of death, this would be a line that would have Wonwoo blushing. As it was, making him feel a little better was all he could do.

Mingyu focused on the warmth on his hand, trying to shut everything else out. For so many months, he had been unable to think about anything else other than Wonwoo. Even when facing death, Mingyu was proud to find that his love didn’t waver.

~*~

"Minghao where the hell are we going?" Junhui asked anxiously.

"Honestly I have no idea..." the prince said back. "Um Soonyoung hyung, where are you taking us?" he asked, as he climbed down the small stairs of the basement.

"How were you going to enter the prison? Do you know how heavily they guard it?" the steward chided between his teeth.

"I'm a knight you know." Junhui piped up.

"Oh you are? Nobody wanted to introduce you before." Soonyoung said with a dose of irony. "Just follow me, I will explain in a while. You still trust me, right?"

"Of course we do." Chan piped up. "Right guys?" he asked the other two.

"Yes, Soonyoung hyung, we trust you. But we better hurry if we want to save them. And I don't think getting down here will help a lot." Minghao replied.

"Well, I thought you might have known about this Minghao, since you're the prince and all." Soonyoung glanced at him. "Don't worry, I'm taking you to your destination."

When they reached the basement, Soonyoung guided them towards the end of the dark corridor and outside one of the smallest cellars the palace had. He opened the door and they all walked in. As soon as the door was closed again, the steward started shuffling around, removing old furniture, sacks with rugs and all kind of things out of his way. After a minute or so, he left a small ‘uh-huh’ and made a step sideways.

"What are you doing hyung?" Chan asked, trying to lean over the other's shoulder.

Soonyoung then walked towards the wall beside the door, revealing to the other three what was hiding under all those old things.

Minghao gaped at the small door on the ground. Apart from the fact that it was stuck under some of the most useless things in the castle, that nobody would ever think to move, the door was the same colour and pattern as the rest of the cellar's floor. It couldn't be noticed on first glance, especially if you didn't know it was there.

"Don't tell me this leads to the army's building." Minghao whispered, surprised with this new discovery.

"Why haven't I seen this before? I practically grew up inside this damn basement." Chan exclaimed.

"It's hidden for a reason Channie." Soonyoung said and removed a rock from the wall, revealing an old, dusty key. He took it in his hands, approached the door, and with a smooth move he placed it inside the keyhole, unlocking it. "Give me one lantern please." he instructed, stretching a hand out.

Junhui passed his lantern to him.

"Let's save them." Soonyoung said with a lopsided grin and slipped through the emptiness.

Minghao thanked the higher powers for Soonyoung's attitude. That tunnel just made their plan actually have a chance of succeeding. Soonyoung went on the front, Chan next, then Minghao and in the end, like always, Junhui. The knight closed the door above them and everything went darker. Their only light source was the two lanterns in Soonyoung's and Minghao’s hands.

"Before we proceed." Junhui paused. "Mister blond hair sir, where does this tunnel lead? We need to know how many guards we are facing and how long we need to walk in open light to get to the cells."

"The tunnel _mister knight_ , is leading at the basement of the army's building." Soonyoung explained.

"Isn't that where the prison cells are located?" Minghao asked.

"Exactly." the steward answered and smirked back at the prince.

"Wait, so we're going directly inside the cells? Are we suddenly going to pop up in front of the guards?" Junhui sounded skeptical.

"No. The end of the tunnels is inside the farthest cell, which by the way is always kept open and unused." Soonyoung pointed out.

"This is unbelievable.” Minghao’s eyes darted around the narrow tunnel. It smelled like moist soil, the air stale and musty. “All this is hidden in plain sight." he stated dumbfounded.

"Wait a minute" Junhui exclaimed. "I've been down those cells. Everything looks locked."

"As you said, everything _looks_ locked. It's a smart tactic." Soonyoung said proudly.

"How do you even know about this hyung?" Minghao said incredulous.

"I have my sources." the steward sighed.

They walked quickly inside the dark tunnel, passing through rocky wet walls. Droplets of water dripped down, accompanying their footsteps, boots scuffing the dirt under their soles. They made everything chilly and humid. After only two minutes, the four finally reached a small stone staircase.

"This is it." Soonyoung said, pointing the way up.

The three friends all looked at each other. This _was_ it. Once they climbed those stairs, there was no going back. Chan tapped Minghao on the shoulder.

"I might not get to say it to you later, so Minghao hyung, thank you for being my friend all these years instead of just my prince. I've learned a lot from you, and I will miss you a lot... Please be careful with Mingyu hyung and well... Enjoy the world!" he said, flashing a small smile as he wrapped his arms around the prince.

"Oh Channie." Minghao spoke, moved. "Thank you for being the _best_ valet and friend a prince could ask for. I will miss you too, so much. Please be careful and take care of Soonyoung hyung too. He has the tendency to neglect himself lately." Minghao hugged his young friend back.

"Soonyoung hyung is fine.” the steward smiled. “Just look after yourself okay? And since from tomorrow on, you won't be a prince anymore... Goodbye Minghao. Hyung will miss you too." he ruffled the prince’s hair.

“Stay safe okay? The palace needs you. Everyone needs you. You are our sunshine, so smile hyung, yes?" Minghao said sweetly hugging Soonyoung too.

"Come on now. Let's save your dumb friend and his boyfriend." Soonyoung pated Minghao’s back and then they lined up again.

Junhui pushed forward this time. As he passed by Minghao he patted him on the small of his back.

Minghao gave the knight a tight smile as Junhui took his position at the front. They climbed up the few steps, the knight slowly and carefully opening the wooden trap door. True to Soonyoung's words, as soon as they emerged out, they found themselves in the last cell of the prison. Junhui climbed out first, walking on the balls of his feet as he grabbed the iron bars and pulled them slightly. After checking that no one was on the corridor, he signaled the rest of them to follow.

Minghao held his breath as one by one his friends spilled in the hallway. Junhui walked faster towards the front. It wouldn't be long until the two guards realized they weren't alone, so he had to take them out, and Minghao rushed behind him. Three cells away, the prince noticed the slouched form of his two friends.

They were in different cells but they had crawled all the way to the corner, their hands hanging limply out of the bars, intertwined. Minghao felt his heart breaking. Wonwoo was on the cell closest to him. When he looked at his face, the knight was already staring at him, wide eyed and shocked. He had the decency not to make a sound and betray their position. Minghao smiled and walked past him. Then he saw his best friend, just waking up from a restless sleep. The first sight that greeted him was Junhui's back, marching towards the front.

"Ju-?" he tried to say but Minghao leaped at his cell, putting his hands in front of Mingyu's mouth.

The footman still made a surprised sound.

"What's going on back there?" one of the guards tried to turn back.

Junhui charged at the front as the guard showed up at the doorway. With a quick move he immobilized the other knight and with a hit at the back of his head, he left him unconscious. Just then, the second guard showed up and Junhui ran towards him, ready to put him out as well.

"Wait!" the guard exclaimed intensely, but not loud enough to be heard from the upper floors.

Junhui halted in front of him, hands ghosting above the handle of his sword.

"J-Just take them and get the fuck out of here!" the guard sounded distressed.

"What?" Junhui asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Just... I can't stand this okay? I didn't sign up for this when I became a knight. I swore to protect the people of this kingdom, not kill them because they fall in love." he said, dropping his sword.

"So you're letting us go? You’re ignoring your orders?" Junhui said surprised.

"I'm honoring my vow." the knight bowed, taking the crib with the keys and giving it to Junhui. "Even if it's just by letting you escape. Next time I'll make sure things don't come to this." he sounded broken.

Junhui smiled at the young knight, bowing back out of respect. "Thank you for this. We owe you." he said and took the cell keys. Wonwoo's sword was also placed on a small table at the side of the guard’s room. Junhui grabbed that too. 

"If the general asks you, tell him I hit you and you don't know anything. I don't want you to get in trouble alright?" he smiled as the guard nodded. Junhui patted him on the shoulder and ran towards the cells.

"Junhui hyung!" Mingyu cried out.

"Hush. Time for us to go." Junhui stated and unlocked the bars that held Mingyu captive.

Once Mingyu was out, Chan practically threw himself on the tall boy.

"Channie!" Mingyu sobbed. "You're here too? I'm so sorry for everything, I should have told-" he began, but Minghao shushed him by throwing a dark cape on him

"Wear this and shut up." he said with a smile.

For once, MIngyu did exactly as the prince told him. Junhui moved to the second cell.

"Junhui." Wonwoo sniffed, still sounding lifeless. "What are you doing here?"

"Freeing you. That's what I'm doing." the other answered, and with a click the second door was opened as well.

When Wonwoo got out, it was as if Mingyu forgot there were other people around him and scooped him up in one of his legendary hugs. Much to everyone's disbelief, he kissed him in front of everyone, even if it was just a short peck.

"I thought I'd never get to hold you again." he cried, voice only above a whisper. Wonwoo began sobbing again, hugging him back just as tightly.

Minghao heard Chan squeak form a corner, but Soonyoung remained surprisingly apathetic. The prince draped a cloak over Wonwoo's shaking shoulders as well, noting that it was the first time he ever saw him crying.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but we have to move out if you don't want anyone to find us here." the steward remind them. They all nodded in sync and they rushed back towards the passage.

"What's next in the plan?" Soonyoung asked when they were safely inside the underground tunnel.

Minghao didn't miss that his voice had gotten smaller. "We have to go to the stables. Get horses and get out." the prince answered simply.

"Shit, Wonwoo are you okay?" Mingyu’s loud voice cut them.

Everyone’s attention was on the knight immediately. Minghao saw him holding onto the wall to keep himself standing, as his other hand was clenching the front of his stomach.

"I'll be fine. It's just the punch of that knight gave me a hell of a bruise." he flashed a pained smile. Mingyu went beside his boyfriend, taking one arm and placing it around his own shoulder.

"You're lucky then. There is a turn in this tunnel that leads to the stables." Soonyoung said and without waiting for the prince’s approval he started walking forward.

Chan hastily put Wonwoo's other arm around his, admittedly, shorter shoulder. "Hi. Remember me?" he said, making Wonwoo chuckle.

Junhui snickered from his place at the back. The three of them were barely fitting inside the narrow corridor.

"Hello Chan. Of course I remember you. Thank you for your help." Wonwoo said.

"You're welcome." the valet smiled sweetly.

Luckily for Wonwoo the road to the stables wasn't long. They reached there in three minutes. They climbed another small staircase and they found themselves at the center of the stables’ wooden floor.

"This tunnel is impressive. I can't believe it's been here all along." Minghao said looking back at the hole inside a horse's barn that was suspiciously left unoccupied. Mingyu and Chan were still fuzzing around Wonwoo to be of any help, so Junhui went with Minghao and Soonyoung to retrieve their sleeping horses.

"This doesn't look like a bruise love, you could barely climb up those stairs." Mingyu spoke anxiously.

"Wonwoo hyung, please be careful in the future. I don't think I've ever seen Mingyu hyung so worried before." Chan advised, eyeing the footman wirily.

"Of course I'm worried, this might be serious! I just got him back, I can't lose him again." Mingyu pouted.

"You won't lose him, Wonwoo hyung is a knight, he knows how to take care of himself." Chan pointed out.

"Channie you don't understand, we almost died, I can't-"

"Oh my god hyung, these are probably our last five minutes together, do you really want to spend them arguing?" the valet chided.

Mingyu promptly shut his mouth. "No. You're right. We’re not gonna fight." he sighed.

Minghao thanked all those times that he and his two friends had come here in the past to play and help Hoseok and his father around. He knew exactly where the groom master placed their horses' stuff, like their saddles, their bridles and their reins. So he quickly went to retrieve them as Junhui and Soonyoung took the horses out.

"Mingyu go and help them. I'll be fine I swear." Wonwoo urged his boyfriend.

"I'm not leaving you. Not now, not ever." Mingyu said decisively.

"Wow." Chan exclaimed. "If only I knew about you two earlier. So much teasing material." he chuckled.

It was clear the boy was trying his best to accept the situation with what little time he had. He joked around trying to get comfortable himself. He even spoke to Wonwoo, trying to get to know him minutes before the last time he ever saw him.

"Yes love, I know you’re not leaving me, but they need your help. I'll be safe. Don't worry." Wonwoo smiled and kissed the corner of Mingyu's lips gently.

Mingyu looked uncertain. He dragged the knight to a stool and placed him there, with the help of Chan. "Please make sure he is okay." he told the valet.

Chan nodded eagerly, and with that, the footman left his lover in his care and went to help the rest. Minghao had managed to take the gear out, as Junhui and Soonyoung brought the four horses.

"Give me a saddle." Mingyu said to Minghao quietly.

The prince handed him one, watching him immediately dive in to work. He patted his horse's head lightly, comforting it as much as he was comforting himself. Now that he was away from Wonwoo, uncertainty and anxiety started rolling off of him.

"...Are we really leaving Minghao?" he asked, trying to steady his hands.

"It's our only choice Mingyu." the prince answered, placing the reins around his horse’s mouth. "You are sentenced to death and Junhui and I broke I don't know how many rules to get you out. If we don't leave... I don't want know what's going to happen." he sighed, adjusting the saddle.

"I'm so sorry…" he mumbled towards Minghao and placed the reins down, rushing back to where Chan and Wonwoo were. Minghao sighed deeply. He dived down, taking the stripes of leather and proceeding to prepare Mingyu’s horse. They had to hurry.

Words were exchanged between Chan an Mingyu, words that Minghao didn’t have the time to decipher, and then Chan was at his side. Minghao immediately shot him a look.

"What's wrong with Mingyu?" he asked. "The faster we get out of here the more chances we have of surviving."

"He needs a moment. Apparently this is all too much." Chan sighed as he steadied the saddle on the horse's back.

When the horses were finally ready, Junhui brought the couple towards them, and everyone helped getting Wonwoo with his hurt side on his saddle.

"You're sure you'll be able to ride?" Mingyu asked for the third time.

"For the love of God, Mingyu. I'm a trained knight, stop babying me." Wonwoo huffed as he got conformable on his horse.

"Okay. I'll see you outside then." Mingyu said and turned back to climb on his own horse.

"Does your highness know how to properly ride a horse?" Junhui asked Minghao as he smoothly climbed his own horse.

His playful mood was back. Minghao had never thought he would be so relieved to hear his teasing.

"I haven't been living under a rock you know. Riding a horse is one of the basic skills a royal should have." he said and made a motion to climb up.

Everything was going smoothly. _Too smoothly_ , the doubting part of Minghao was screaming. How could it be that it was only Soonyoung that knew about these tunnels? It couldn’t be.

Of course it couldn’t.

The trapdoor they had gotten out of slammed open once again, but by no one of their small group.

Minghao whipped his head to look at the intruder, taking an instinctive step back. When he realized exactly he had come face to face with, he took several more steps back.

Time froze as every pair of eyes in the room turned to look at the _general_. Jihoon was not a tall man, but his presence was always huge. Especially when he felt angry. His shoulders were stiff, his eyes furious beyond anyone in the room had ever seen before.

"Just what in the name of devil do you think you're doing." he stated icily, not even phrasing it like a question.

General Jihoon had faced pirates, had quelled uprisings and had dealt with fights all over the town. But to the people opposite him, he had never looked as terrifying as he did now. No one dared to talk, a deafening silence enveloping them as the piercing glare of the general was landing on each person at a time. Finally, after a long pause, Minghao found the courage to speak. Jihoon was a fearsome person but he couldn't do anything to him. He was the prince after all.

"What does it look like general? We're leaving." he said simply, surprised at the steady tone of his voice.

"You're leaving." the general repeated in belittling disbelief.

His glare was extra hard as it landed on the steward. Soonyoung looked at the ground, sad but not apologetic.

"I hope you know I don't sleep at nights, trying to protect all of you. First, one valued knight and the first footman break a huge rule, the one damn rule that no man should ever break. Then another knight and the _prince_ himself break practically every other rule trying to _save_ their vile friends." Jihoon clenched his fists.

"I stumbled down the prison cells only to find my guards knocked down and the door of the secret passage not properly closed. Soonyoung, I honestly had never thought it would come to this. I thought that no matter what, at least I could trust _you_." a small pause. "Nobody's leaving tonight." the general announced, preparing to draw his sword.

"You know what general, this is wrong!" Minghao said, his blood boiling in his veins. "You sentence two innocent people to death because what they fell in love?! Who are _you_ and _my father_ and every other person on this world to make rules like this? Are you God? Are you faith? No. You aren't anything. You have no right to do to take someone's life like that." he argued.

"Be quiet Minghao." the general spat. "You knew you were losing whatever power you thought you have over me after tonight, either if you managed to escape or if I caught you. Don't expect me to go easy on you." he walked forward, pushing by Chan and getting closer to the horses. "Get down from your horses all of you. Now." he demanded, taking the reins of Minghao’s horse in his hands.

The horse neighed, backing away from the sudden hold. Minghao wobbled on top of the saddle, almost tumbling over. His powerlessness in the situation hit him with the force of meteorite. A prince only in title, that was what he was. That was what he needed to escape from.

"How dar-" Junhui said, his hand on the sword handle.

"Enough! Jihoon stop!" Soonyoung yelled and everything fell in silence.

Surprisingly, the general did too, if only for a moment. "Soonyoung you're not going to-" he began, but he was cut off.

"This is insane Jihoon and you know it! You can't make them stay. You can't kill them! Not because of _that_. Not y _ou_ , of all people." Soonyoung accused bitterly.

"What does any of this have to do with me?" Jihoon asked through gritted teeth.

"Everything! Because you're alive! _I am_ alive! And this is not fair!" the steward shouted.

"Wait what?" Chan said from his corner.

Jihoon gaped, shocked. "What are you saying..." he said. "You said you wouldn't bring this up-"

"Jihoon! Look at them and tell me honestly that you could give the order to the lunatic with the axe to cut their heads, knowing what they did." Soonyoung started shaking. "What if this was us?"

"It wouldn't-" Jihoon started, but the steward wouldn't let him speak.

"It's exactly the same thing Jihoon! And you know it!" He was crying. Soonyoung was crying. Pure sadness was radiating off him. "Because you've be there. _We_ 've there. And we know better than anyone how it is!” he said desperately. "They are happy. How can you take that away from them? How… how can you do this for a second time? Are you _that_ cold hearted Jihoonie?"

It was like someone slapped the general, that was how hard he flinched. The only difference was, that slapping him across the face would have probably hurt him less.

"I'm trying to keep this country safe. There are rules..." Jihoon tried to say.

"These rules shouldn't exist Jihoon. They made us what we are today. And honestly I've never hated myself more than I do now." Soonyoung sniffed. “This could have been us, and I can’t stop thinking about it.” he pointed at Wonwoo and Mingyu.

Jihoon looked at the prince and his company. No one dared say anything as his eyes fell on each one of them again. His previous anger was gone, just like that, as if it had passed through a filter or weariness. Soonyoung was obviously getting to him, in a way nobody else here could. But this was the general. He wouldn’t have been here if he was so easy to waver.

"Jihoon..." Soonyoung whispered. "I know what you're thinking. You aren't coldhearted, I know it. You thought you were doing the right thing back then, you were trying to protect us, I can understand that. But please wake up and face it. History will always repeat itself. And you can't possibly kill every person who falls in love with someone of the same gender as them just because they forced you to believe it's wrong." the steward said, taking a step closer to his old friend.

The general tried to find his resolve to continue doing what he initially came here to do. He was fighting a battle, the worse kind of it. He was fighting a battle against himself, one where there seemed to be no victory. Minghao knew those battles all too well. If Jihoon let them go now, those who remained, including himself, would face the consequences from the king. If he captured and killed them though, if Minghao was understanding the situation for what it was, he might as well have killed Soonyoung all those years ago.

Perhaps it would have been more merciful to what he has actually done to him. Two years of no speaking, Minghao’s heart clenched as he finally found out why. It didn’t matter what Soonyoung said, to Minghao, general Jihoon really was heartless to let this happen.

Perhaps though, that was the thought that finally did it. Jihoon had admitted to himself long ago that no matter what, he would keep Soonyoung alive, even if it meant his own death, his own suffering. If he killed Mingyu and Wonwoo now, he would be killing a lot more, more than he could handle.

He walked backwards, slow steps that lead him the stable's front door. With a last glance at the four riders, and a lingering one at Soonyoung, he let out a breath he had been holding for more than two years.

And then, he unlocked the stable’s door. "Go." he said quietly, as if he was in a trance, as if he was still in disbelief of what he was doing. "Before I change my mind."

Minghao gave him a quick nod. The general’s battle was not his own, but he took what Soonyoung had offered to them. A chance.

"Genera Jihoon.” Wonwoo paused to say to the person who had been his superior all those years. "Now you know why the first footman chose to do something so stupid that night we got suspended.”

With that, the four of them put on their hoods and with a small sharp hit of the reins, the horses began to run.

"Chan, Soonyoung hyung take care!" Mingyu shouted before they exited the stable’s door.

They went out in a flurry. No one expected four horses in the middle of the night, stomping their way around the palace to the main entrance. Guards were yelling, lanterns were lighting up, but ultimately, no one had any time to do anything.

"Wonwoo get in front, you're the only one that has ever been outside! Mingyu next to me! Don't stop no matter what until we can no longer see Gisa!" Minghao yelled his last orders as a prince.

The two immediately complied, and Junhui took his usual place at the back of the formation.

They ran and ran. All the way to the town's gate. They passed the bridge that connected the kingdom to mainland, leaving the tall walls behind them. But they didn't stop there. They continued, hooves echoing through the woods outside of the capital. They ran and ran and not once looked back.

It was a strange feeling, knowing that you were finally free. Minghao felt his heart accelerating. He knew they were far from safe yet, but they were close now. He could taste the freedom. He could finally look ahead and not see Gisa's walls. There was nothing other than wide plains and mountains in the distance. They were leaving the sea behind them. His eyes were finally free to wander to the horizon.

Mingyu too. Mingyu was the same as him. He was looking ahead eagerly, but the difference was that he didn’t hold back his excitement. "We did it!" he yelled and looked at the prince.

Minghao had never seen his friend smiling like that. It was a pure, utterly genuine smile. It made him happy as well. It showed him he had made the right choice.

"Were finally free!" Mingyu yelled again.

"And that's only the beginning." Minghao said back, not knowing he had the exact same smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO!!!!!! 
> 
> THIS, is the start of everything. THIS, is the moment that our story TRULLY starts!!!
> 
> A small TMI; the title of this chapter doesn't mean anything specific. It's actually the title from BTS's song "Don't leave me". We used it because, as we were writting this chapter two years ago we were listening to it, but the instrumental version. The song is on the playlist that I have put at the notes of the 3rd chapter. In case you want to check it out.
> 
> Anyways, I hoped you liked this chapter, and as always we are waiting for your opinion on the comments. Please do share what you think about the escape and the whole plan okay??
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy!
> 
> -SkWh


	13. Best Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo people, and Merry Christmas to everyone around the globe!!!!  
> I hope you are doing good, and I hope you had a great day yesterday, filling your bellies with warm food together with the people you love!
> 
> So, today's chapter kind of "fits" the atmosphere, since it's a small "break" in our plot.  
> The last two chapter were a real rollercoster, so we kinda want to ease things up a bit before we continue with our adventure.
> 
> But I have to admit, this chapter even though it's light, it is not entierly sweet and soft. Buckle up people because it's SOONHOON time!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Before we proceed though I have to warn you (I add this now, I'm sorry for forgetting it two days ago😭) There's going to be smut in this chapter, just in case you don't want to read it. 
> 
> So, without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

It was later that night, borderline morning, that Soonyoung and Chan sat together in the steward's room, hot cups of tea in their hands, even though the weather was warmer now.

After they had watched their friends depart and cause an uproar, Jihoon had hastily led them back down the tunnel, making sure to hide it properly this time.

 _"I'll make sure you stay out of trouble."_ had been his parting words

Soonyoung didn't get a chance to thank him. Chan and he had quickly run back to the castle, climbing through the small cellar and fixing everything to the best of their ability. They had gone into Soonyoung's room, aware that it wouldn't be long until the whole castle was awake and in panic. They decided to cherish the few hours of peace they had left.

"This is unbelievable." Soonyoung mumbled around his porcelain cup.

"I know right? After all those years, I'm not going to go wake prince Minghao up in a few hours." the valet agreed. "At least you know too now. I... I was scared I would be left alone." he admitted.

"Oh my sweet Channie. No. I would have never left you alone." Soonyoung said sweetly.

"Me neither. You've been through hard times as well, haven't you?" Chan questioned softly.

"I can't say I haven't." Soonyoung sighed.

"I... I understand why you couldn't speak earlier but... I think that we already have enough shared secrets to hide now. What's one more?" Chan sipped his tea.

Soonyoung eyed him carefully. Chan had grown up so fast. Soonyoung couldn't believe it. It seemed like it was only yesterday when he was running around the castle shouting for Soonyoung to play with him. And now that child was sitting opposite him, trying to make serious talk. Things have changed.

Soonyoung sighed. "Are you sure you want to learn about me Chan? Because I don't want to lose you too." he said carefully.

"It can't be that bad. You're still you. You have to try really hard to stop being my favourite hyung." Chan smiled encouragingly.

Soonyoung laughed under his breath. "Alright then. I hope you're right." he sighed and placed his cup on the desk.

Chan huddled closer to him, waiting for his hyung to find his words.

"It all started two years ago on Samuel's engagement..."

~*~

_*Two and a half years earlier*_

"Hyung, for the last time, if _I'm_ not stressing, you are not allowed to stress either!" Boo Seungkwan said as he pushed Soonyoung out of the kitchen, where he kept bothering the royal chef about his cooking.

"And don't you come back!" Seokjin’s yell sounded behind them.

"But Kwanie, it's my responsibility to take care of everything…" Soonyoung whined.

"No it isn't, it's mine! Why do you always get like this when there is a big celebration?" the clothier asked, huffing annoyed.

"Because I am a perfectionist. I can't help myself!" Soonyoung declared, throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay then. Here’s what we are gonna do.” Seungkwan heaved a sigh, steering the steward outside of the palace and towards the army's building. “By your awesome, handsome and wise friend’s - _mine_ \- advice, today you are only allowed to talk to the only other perfectionist in this castle." he said.

“But Seungkwan!”

“No buts! You are prohibited from even breathing outside the kitchen until every dish is ready, you hear me? Leave the food to Seokjin hyung, the _actual_ chef.” the other scolded.

“And what about the rest of the celebration?” Soonyoung whined.

“That is on me. So stop roaming around bothering me, or I’ll end up messing up the decorations!” Seungkwan threatened, halting his steps.

It was only then that Soonyoung realized they had reached the front of the army’s building. Just like the rest of the castle, the army building was also buzzing, busy with the preparations for the evening. Guards were going in, others were exiting. Horses were roaming through, guided to the stables, supplies being maneuvered around the courtyard. Some of the knights were even sweeping and cleaning the training field.

“I don’t know Boo, I-” but before Soonyoung could retort, Seungkwan pushed him inside, waving goodbye as he walked away.

“Wait! Seungkwan!”

“Soonyoung-ssi? What are you doing here?” a young knight asked, catching the steward’s attention.

“Oh. Hello Jungkook. I was banished!” Soonyoung said dramatically. “Is general Jihoon in his office?” he asked with a smile.

“He is, but he isn’t alone. Doctor Hong is with him.” the knight informed.

“What? Why? Is he okay?” the steward asked, immediately concerned. He didn’t wait to hear Jungkook’s answer though. He shuffled away from the young knight, hurrying his way towards his friend’s office.

Soonyoung hoped Jihoon was alright. The engagement ceremony was one of the biggest events that Gisa had ever seen in the last century. It was a matter of life and death, considering the fact that a whole alliance was rooting on it. And one of the people that weren’t even _allowed_ to be missing was Gisa’s general. Soonyoung really hoped that Jihoon wasn’t sick.

~*~

Inside his office, general Jihoon was sitting on his chair, doctor Hong above his head, trying to take his temperature.

"I don't think you have a fever. What's wrong general?" he asked confused.

"I don’t know doctor. It's just a headache that comes and goes..." the general sighed.

Suddenly the door burst open, the blond steward emerging through it, not even bothering to knock.

"There it is again." Jihoon groaned, placing his forehead on his desk.

"Good morning Jihoon! Hello doctor! Is everything okay? " the steward asked, walking towards the other two people.

Doctor Hong looked between the two and smiled. "You're probably tired general, you did tell me that you haven't been sleeping enough lately, right? I will give you some herbs that help with relaxation and I think that this will be it." he concluded, fishing a small pouch from inside his bag.

"Aw, Jihoonie isn't sleeping well?" Soonyoung voiced, a pout curling around his lips.

Jihoon heaved another sigh. "Thank you doctor Hong." he mumbled and took the small pouch with the herbs.

"Don't mention it." the doctor brushed him off with a kind smile and walked towards the door. "Get some rest and keep yourself hydrated." he advised lastly and then he exited the general’s office.

Jihoon inhaled deeply, his gaze returning once again to the crinkled papers in front of him.

"Don't ignore me Jihoonie." Soonyoung's pout deepened.

"What do you want Soonie?" the general asked, reaching for his fountain pen.

"Jungkook said you didn't feel well, so I came to see you." the steward informed, a hint of concern swimming in his bright eyes.

Jihoon chuckled and glanced at his friend's radiant face, a small smile marring his lips. "You didn't have to. You must be busy with all the preparations for tonight." he said. “Besides I’m fine, it’s just a headache.”

"Actually, Seungkwan dumped me here. He said I'm shouldn’t stick my nose in other people’s jobs and that I shouldn't _worry_ because he has everything under control." Soonyoung whined.

Jihoon snickered. That sounded like Boo Seungkwan. “Did you by any chance, started bothering Seokjin-ssi again?” he questioned, arching an amused eyebrow.

“Me? Never!” Soonyoung scoffed, not even half offended. “How did something like that cross your mind Jihoonie?”

The general threw him a look of disbelief, making the steward groan. “Fine… maybe I did talk Seokjin’s hyung ears off…” he admitted with a pout. “But just a little!”

Jihoon snickered. "Alright then, since you don’t have anywhere else to go. Sit down." Jihoon pointed to another chair in the room.

Without wasting another moment, Soonyoung grabbed the chair and brought it behind Jihoon's desk right next to the general. When he sat down, their shoulders were touching.

"So... what are you doing?" Soonyoung asked, peering over the other’s shoulder, legs dangling off.

"Just organizing the shifts for tomorrow. I've done most of the serious paperwork last night." Jihoon said, and at the mention of his nearly sleepless night he yawned.

"Aw Jihoonie. How many times do I have to tell you that it's not alright not to sleep?" Soonyoung whined, crossing his arms in disapproval.

"It's not like I'm _not_ trying too..." the general mumbled and leaned his head on Soonyoung's shoulder.

He felt Soonyoung snaking his hand around his shoulder sinking further in his seat.

"I know. But you have to take a rest. Otherwise you'll damage your brain." the steward sighed as he started trailing his fingertips on Jihoon's arm.

Jihoon shivered, trying to keep his concentration on the papers. He yawned again. It was always easier to relax when Soonyoung was in reach.

"Even damaged, my brain would be greater than yours." Jihoon teased.

“You always say that Jihoonie... You're so mean to me." the steward pouted.

"Maybe I like it when you pout." Jihoon said, feeling soft for once.

"Then I should pout more often for you." Soonyoung whispered, pink dusting his cheeks.

Jihoon tried to keep himself from blushing as well, but Soonyoung's fingers still brushing over his arm weren't helping. Those little moments in their friendship had been happening a lot more frequently lately. The general honestly didn't know what to make of them, apart from the fact that he wanted more. He had an inkling as to what might be happening, thus the headache. But when the steward was around, he couldn't help it but let his worries disappear.

"So are we ready to welcome the army that's coming with Zhanshi’s king and his daughter?" Soonyoung asked.

"More than ready." Jihoon nodded. "Rooms are emptied, and I've been talking with their general, we have every schedule planned. There is no way anything is happening tonight. I'll keep you safe." he said.  
"I mean a-all of you. Yeah." he added hastily.

"You always do. You are our shield and our sword. We trust you Jihoonie." Soonyoung mumbled sweetly.

Jihoon smiled again, Soonyoung's words filling his chest with pride. It was one thing to know that you were good at your job, but it was a whole other feeling when someone affirmed you. Jihoon liked being acknowledged.

"I have a good feeling about tonight." he said, his optimism sounding strange even to himself.

"What a coincidence. Me too." the steward smiled looking at his friend.

"After I get this done, do you want to eat lunch behind the garden?" the general suggested.

It was a place they met often, taking their lunch together and talking about their day. They weren’t sitting inside the actual garden, but they had found a small bench right outside it’s railings. It was the next best thing.

"What a lovely idea. If you don't have something else to do, I'll be glad." Soonyoung grinned.

Jihoon nodded and straightened his back, throwing himself back at his papers. He wanted to finish them quickly, before Soonyoung got bored and left.

~*~  
  


"And Seokjin yelled at me! Can you believe it Jihoonie? He tried to hit me with a ladle." Soonyoung whined, dragging his feet as he walked beside Jihoon. They had already finished their lunch and now they were returning to their rooms so they could get ready for the ceremony.

Jihoon snorted. "I would have hit you with a ladle too if you were trying to do my work for me." he said elbowing his friend

"But Jihoonie~" Soonyoung pouted.

"Okay maybe I wouldn't." the general said, looking the other way and blushing like a child.

It was kinda true. If Soonyoung pouted at him like that, he would have let him do whatever.

Soonyoung flashed a beautiful smile at him. 

"Yeah Jihoonie you aren't like them. You love me too much be mean to me." the steward said absent-mindedly.

Jihoon didn't miss his words though. ‘ _Yeah, I kinda do’_ he thought, but quickly shook his thoughts away. Soonyoung was his best friend, of course he loved him. Like a true brother.

Right?

"But you wouldn't have meddled in my business in the first place. You trust me." Jihoon said proudly, the thought feeling him with warmth.

Not right.

"Of course I do. You always have my back." Soonyoung said sweetly.

Very much not right.

~*~

They stopped briefly in front of the tall gate of the palace. "I'll come pick you up later, so we can upstairs together yeah?" Jihoon said as it was time to separate.

Soonyoung almost didn’t want to. "Of course. I'll be waiting." he answered happily and waved goodbye at the general, before he shuffled inside the palace.

He rushed to his room, feeling decidedly less stressed than before. He saw Seungkwan on the way, who raised his eyebrows in question, but Soonyoung just smiled cheerfully at him and continued his way. Once he entered his room, he immediately walked towards his wardrobe, opening its doors wide. He had already planned on what to wear for the event, so he started picking each cloth out carefully.

Soonyoung was a simple man when it came to his outfits. That was one of many reasons he was constantly getting scolded by Seungkwan. But he didn’t care much about what Seungkwan had to say. As long as the little demon stayed away from his closet, everything was fine.

Though, to be totally fair, Soonyoung was still one of the higher in hierarchy servants. So, to have few fancier outfits in his closet was a must. The steward picked one of his newly purchased forest green capes, dumping it on his bed together with a satin shirt and pair of dark breeches. A couple of gold jewelries followed, meticulously taken out of their wooden boxes, together with his well-preserved leather boots.

Finally, after twenty minutes of fixing his appearance, Soonyoung looked himself on his full-body mirror, smiling lightly. He was ready. Now the only thing remaining was his partner, so the steward sat on his bed, patiently waiting for the sun to begin setting.

~*~

True to his word, Jihoon was outside of his room around seven in the evening. He knocked lightly on the steward’s door and waited. The event would start in half an hour. The two royal families had already arrived, and they were resting at their private chambers. Royals and other guests had started filling the ballroom, waiting for the engagement celebration to begin.

Soonyoung had to go earlier than the guests, being the steward and all, so Jihoon decided to go early as well. He was bored alone in his room.

"I'm coming!" Soonyoung yelled from inside.

The door opened and there it was; Soonyoung in his fancy outfit, bright and smiley and Jihoon felt his legs melt.

"Hello there. Looking good." he said, eyeing his friend.

"You too." Soonyoung dropped his arm around Jihoon's shoulder and rotated him so they could go upstairs. "Do you think Seokjin has made caviar? I'm really in the mood for caviar."

"It's one of his signature plates. He always makes it." Jihoon made a face.

"Don't be like that. Caviar is good. You're just weird." Soonyoung stuck his tongue, an action worthy of a respectable steward.

"I didn't say that I don't like it. I just got used to it, I guess." Jihoon shrugged. "And put that tongue back in there or I will cut it." he smirked.

"Yeah if you manage to reach it!" Soonyoung laughed and patted his friend's head.

"That's a low blow Soonyoung." Jihoon glared at him.

"Don't be offended. I love your height." Soonyoung said offhandedly.

"And I still don't know why." the general wondered.

"Oh come on you look so..." Soonyoung trailed off.

Last time he had called Jihoon cute, it had ended with a broken lantern. Soonyoung might have not been the smartest person in the world, but he learned from his mistakes. So he just flashed Jihoon a sunny smile, one of those that made his eyes disappear, that knew Jihoon liked, hoping it would distract him from his words.

Jihoon sighed. That smile was gonna kill him one of these days he was sure about it. They finally reached the ballroom side by side. They entered, taking a look around.

A few people were already inside, mostly servants and maids, but the room seemed already full of life. Though that might have had something to do with Seungkwan and Seokmin, who were loudly talking at the middle of the room.

"That's the last time you're allowed in my events without your singing!" Seungkwan was saying.

"Will you stop whining already? Besides you already have the best musicians here." Seokmin brushed him off.

"You don't understand. _You_ are my best musician." Seungkwan continued and sighed dramatically.  
"I should have continued getting vocal lessons all those years ago but alas, I was young and naive. Also, fashion is better."

"Good for us I would say!" Seokmin answered with an eyeroll.

Seungkwan screeched offended, but Soonyoung's laugh made them both turn to look at him.

"Seokmin you're back!" the steward exclaimed, walking towards the two, dragging Jihoon from the arm.

"Hyung!" Seokmin smiled brightly upon seeing them. "How are you? I missed you so much."

Soonyoung let go of Jihoon to hug Seokmin. Jihoon felt his guts twist uncomfortably, a scowl tugging on his lips. The musician turned to the general as well, not surprised to find a frown on his face.

"Hello Jihoon hyung." he said.

"Hello Seokmin. Seungkwan." the general answered, nodding his head.

Soonyoung linked his arm with Jihoon again, probably noticing his change of mood.

"So, how was the last trip?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Incredible as always! Everything was amazing. The place, the people. I enjoyed it very much." Seokmin explained excitedly.

"Not better than _this_ feast though." Seungkwan added, crossing his arms.

"I can't judge that yet my friend." Seokmin teased pointing a finger at the young clothier.

"Preposterous!" Seungkwan said as the steward laughed again.

Jihoon subtly tugged Soonyoung's sleeve. "We should go check the place and find a seat." he proposed.

"Shouldn't the royal stuff have their own table?" Soonyoung looked at Seungkwan questioningly.

"Not today, hyung. We are leaving the two royal families to sit together, and at the same time we want to demonstrate how our system works. Some might have high ranking positions, some lower, but ultimately we are all together." Seungkwan said and Seokmin nodded impressed.

"Excellent! Let's sit all together then." Soonyoung clapped his hands.

Soonyoung couldn't sit down just yet, he still had to talk to some people. But at least the rest of them would keep him a seat. Jihoon walked with Seungkwan and Seokmin towards one of the round tables close to the wide windows of the balcony, taking a seat there. Jihoon left the chair beside him empty. Soonyoung always loved to sit close those two, so Jihoon made himself comfortable on the furthest chair at the other side of the table.

"Hyung?" Seungkwan placed his arm on Jihoon's shoulder. "Is there any way I could legally threaten Seokmin to sing at my next event?" he said.

Jihoon made a face like he was trying to think. “Maybe torture?” he said skeptically and looked at the clothier.

“Oh hyung please.” Seokmin whined from the side.

Seungkwan burst out laughing. "You could help me with that." he declared.

"Maybe I could do something for you." Jihoon snickered.

"If you torture me, I'll disown you." Seokmin said threateningly.

"From what exactly?" Seungkwan asked ironically.

Seokmin stared at him in thought. After a few seconds his face lit up, a mischievous grin splitting his lips. "I'm not letting my lovely brother talk to you ever again." he threatened.

"You wouldn't dare to do that." Seungkwan voiced in horror. "Channie is my beloved little one. He would never listen to you. He loves me too much." the clothier sassed and stuck his tongue out.

"Chan would sooner stop talking to you than Soonyoung." Jihoon added nonchalantly.

Seungkwan glared at him. "How dare you!?" he faked hurt.

The chair at Jihoon’s side screeched as it was dragged away from the table, and suddenly Soonyoung came in the general’s line of vision.

"What did I miss?" he asked, watching his two friends bickering.

"Seokmin says he will get Chan to stop talking to us." Jihoon answered, placing a hand on the steward's thigh.

"Only to Seungkwan. Because honestly, he wouldn't stop talking to you even if you had committed murder." Seokmin said, momentarily stopping their dispute to point at Soonyoung.

Soonyoung smiled proudly. "Of course he wouldn't. He is my favourite duckling for a reason!" he said.

"What's wrong with you and your favorites." Seungkwan whined. "No one loves me in this world?" he spoke dramatically.

"Don't worry, I love you too! My heart's big enough." Soonyoung reached over to ruffle the clothier's hair.

Seungkwan stared at him offended and immediately began fixing his now messy bangs.

Jihoon smiled, but it was a little bitter. Soonyoung indeed had a big heart. He never hesitated to say ‘I love you’ to all his friends. Why would Jihoon be any different? Why did he even _want_ to be any different? He looked down at the table and took his hand off Soonyoung's leg.

Apparently, Soonyoung sensed the sudden mood change of his. So he gently took Jihoon’s left palm and placed it in his own. Jihoon tried not to blush in the middle of the room, especially when the guests had started arriving, slowly filling the place up. He just tightened his hold for a second, acknowledging Soonyoung.

The steward didn't stop his small talk with his two friends, his smile growing more and more as Jihoon's warm palm stayed in his.

Finally, after twenty minutes a servant announced the three royal families' entrance. All the guests stood up to clap and welcome the rulers. First entered their King. Prince Minghao was on his side, trying to seem serious and imposing as his father. Then the king's brother appeared, together with his beautiful wife and prince Samuel, one of tonight’s honored persons.

And last entered the Zhanshi ruler. The foreign family was fancily dressed, just like the other two. The king was walking proudly, his head held up. Beside him was the queen, a small delicate woman that was holding his hand. And at the end, the other honored person, their daughter. Prince Samuel's future wife.

"Aw, she's pretty. I think navy blue is her colour. With fluffy sleeves to point out her shoulders." Seungkwan mumbled but Seokmin slapped his arm to be quiet.

Soonyoung laughed lightly and sat down like the rest of the hall, ready to hear the king's speech.

"My loyal subjects and dear guests." he began with his booming voice. "Thank you for attending prince Samuel's and princess' Yangcheng engagement celebration. This is one of the happiest times of our kingdom, as we all welcome the royal family of Zhanshi in our country. To strengthen our relationship and bring eternal peace to our two beautiful lands. So, let’s welcome the king of our brother kingdom." their ruler said and sat down, only for the foreign ruler to step in his place.

Prince Minghao stood up as well.

"People of Gisa, it's an honor for me and my family that we are here at this lovely palace." the king said in his mother language. Immediately, prince Minghao started the translation.

"I wish this wedding to last an eternity, as long as the strong bond of our countries. Thank you for the pleasant hospitality king Minyoung, and I hope one day I may return your kind gesture."

Minghao finished the speech. King Minyoung nodded, pleased with the wishes his kingdom received. “Then let the celebration begin!" he announced, and all the guests cheered as the music started.

Jihoon looked over at the royal table.

Prince Minghao and Samuel were doing that weird eye communication of theirs. After a while, the younger, with red cheeks, hesitantly approached the princess at the other side of the table. _They're still kids. They should try to be friends,_ Jihoon thought. Prince Minghao did the right thing to urge Samuel that way. Once again, Jihoon thought that the boy would make an interesting king one day.

"They look so cute together, don't they?" Soonyoung voiced.

"Cute?" Jihoon asked, turning to look at the steward.

"Yeah. Look at them, blushing and giggling. Young love is always precious." Soonyoung sighed with a sweet smile.

"Do you think they will ever come to love each other?" Jihoon said seriously.

"I think they will. Prince Samuel is kind and gentle. And they seem pretty close. I believe they will succeed." Soonyoung answered with a firm nod.

"I hope so. Arranged weddings are hard. I don’t think I could share my life with a random stranger." Jihoon said with a frown.

Soonyoung sighed. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the common good." he mumbled.

"Oh? So you would like an arranged marriage Soonie?" Jihoon smirked.

"I never said that. Besides I'm just a steward... Who would arrange a wedding for me?" Soonyoung laughed, taking a sip of wine from his silver cup.

Jihoon refilled his cup. "People would be lucky to get married to you." he said taking a sip from his own wine as well.

"And why is that?" Soonyoung asked, clicking their cups.

"Because you’re like... that." Jihoon explained, gesturing vaguely towards his friend.

"I'm just a servant Jihoon. I'm not strong or tall or handsome." Soonyoung chuckled.

"Yes, but you're _you_." Jihoon pointed out. _And I would argue about the handsome part,_ he thought. "Anyway." Jihoon used their linked hands to point at the long table were all the food was neatly placed. "I see caviar."

"Really?! Sweet. I'm gonna bring some alright? Be right back." the hyper steward said and stood, not forgetting to squeeze Jihoon's hand one more time.

The moment Soonyoung was up, Seungkwan waved at Jihoon. "General hyung, let’s keep refilling his glass. Let's get him a little loose tonight, he deserves a rest." the young boy said.

Jihoon looked at him skeptically. "Doesn't he have work tomorrow?" he asked his fingers already snaking around the jug's handle.

"It will be a slow day tomorrow. I don't think any of the people in here is going to be completely fine anyways." Seungkwan said dismissively.

"Channie can take care of him along with the prince just for one day." Seokmin added.

"Fine then. It's on your head." the general smiled and poured more wine at the steward's cup.

Soonyoung returned with a plate full of caviar and bread. He smiled like a kid that knew they did something wrong, but couldn't care less. Jihoon chuckled at his face.

"I brought you some cheese bread too." Soonyoung said and Jihoon noticed another plate with two slices of said snack.

"What happened to you and you have that smile on your face?" Seungkwan asked.

"None of your business." the steward exclaimed, hiding his plate behind his back

"Seokjin is gonna kill you if he finds out how much you took." Jihoon chuckled, finishing his wine.

"I don't care. I have the right to try some food. I'm his superior after all." Soonyoung huffed and sat down.

"When has that ever stopped him?" Jihoon asked pointedly.

Back at the buffet, the second footman brought some dishes from the kitchen, his eyes widening in shock when he noticed most of the caviar was gone.

"Seriously hyung, look at Mingyu's face!" Seungkwan said as he looked at the scene. "Whatever you did, he is _so_ telling Seokjin!"

"Let him do it. I'm not afraid of him." Soonyoung mumbled, his mouth already full of the rich plate. "Jihoon will protect me. Right Hoonie?" he asked sweetly.

"Your protection is what I'm alive for." Jihoon spoke with a sarcastic politeness, pouring more wine his cup.

Seungkwan fake gagged at them. "Seriously, you two act like a married couple. Stop it."

"Speaking of married couples." Seokmin glanced at the king and queen of Zhanshi. "They are going to retire soon. I've heard the queen has not been feeling well today."

Everyone looked at the mentioned couple, Jihoon finding the opportunity to fill Soonyoung's glass again, like Seungkwan had instructed. The steward was drinking it, clueless.

"Why, what happened to her?" Soonyoung asked.

"I don't know. But doctor Hong paid her a visit before the beginning of the celebration." Seokmin informed.

"Hey, it might not be anything bad. She might be pregnant for all we know." Seungkwan shrugged.

Jihoon sighed in disappointment, looking at his cup. _You all are gossiping like poor housewives. What went wrong with this kingdom,_ he thought.

"I hope she feels better soon." Soonyoung pouted and drank another gulp of his drink.

A few people had begun filling the middle of the room, swaying to the rhythm of the music. Jihoon didn't recognize any faces, but apparently Seungkwan and Seokmin did. They kept whispering between them. Thankfully, Soonyoung broke away soon enough.

"You hate gossip so much, it's almost funny." he laughed and poked Jihoon's shoulder.

"I don't know why some people like it in the first place. Criticizing individuals they haven't met." Jihoon huffed.

"General Jihoon doesn't care about people he doesn't know. He is cool like that." Soonyoung laughed.

"Why? Do you believe otherwise?" Jihoon arched an eyebrow playfully.

"I believe you are the coolest." Soonyoung replied simply. "And you do care about the people you know anyway, so it's not like you're cold hearted or something."

Jihoon looked at him surprised. It was true that most people believed that Jihoon was heartless. A person born emotionless, being only able to execute orders. But as it seemed Soonyoung didn't. Soonyoung just saw the good in him, his sweet, emotional side. Then again, maybe it was because Jihoon was known to show his vulnerable side to him more often than not. Soonyoung was always the exception to the rule.

"Thanks, I guess." the general said downing the rest his wine.

"You're drinking a lot today." the steward observed.

 _You too, it's just that you don't notice,_ Jihoon thought but smirked at him "I can hold my alcohol." he informed.

"Didn't expect anything else, oh great general." Soonyoung teased.

The hours were passing by fast. When Jihoon decided it was time to stop refilling, Seungkwan and Seokmin took it upon themselves to supply the two olders with the rich liquor. Soonyoung made more trips to the buffet, getting caviar exclusively.

One time, he stumbled on Mingyu, and they began fighting, but the first footman separated them, immediately scolding Mingyu. Soonyoung audibly snickered and returned to the table triumphantly.

Jihoon facepalmed. Soonyoung always got what he wanted. Especially if he liked it. Who could ever refuse someone like him? Certainly not Jihoon himself. God knew how much he was willing to offer to him, if only he asked.

And like that, their night continued; drinking and wrapping themselves around small conversations.

"Okay so." Soonyoung said. "Why babies aren't allowed to drink alcoholic beverages?" he stifled his laugh.

"Why?" Jihoon asked.

"Because they _wine_." Soonyoung laughed loudly, banging his hand on the table.

Jihoon blamed his snicker on the alcohol. Normally he didn't laugh at Soonyoung's jokes. They were terrible, no matter how one looked at it. But tonight was a special event, and the steward was tipsy just like him.

"And do you know why they whine?" Soonyoung continued after he composed himself.

"Why?" Jihoon sighed but smiled to his friend no the less.

"Because they want to eat cry-viar!" Soonyoung said and took a bite out of his plate, tears running in his eyes.

"I think you've had enough wine Soonyoung." Jihoon laughed under his breath and took the steward’s cup away.

"Nooo, come on! If you can hold your alcohol, I can too!" Soonyoung _whined_ trying to reach for his glass over Jihoon's arms

"Soonie I said no." Jihoon chided, placing an open palm on the steward’s chest. Their faces stopped a few centimeters apart. Soonyoung pouted at him. So Jihoon, in a moment of daze, pouted back.

Soonyoung’s eyes opened wide, his mouth splitting apart in a huge smile. He squealed and wrapped his arms around the general tightly.

"I can't believe you just did that!" he said rubbing his cheek on the other's shoulder.

Jihoon’s eyes widened realization. What the hell did just happen? Did Jihoon break his strict facade on a night of a formal celebration because Soonyoung was too cute to resist? Definitely not. It was all the alcohol's fault. _No more for you either Jihoon,_ the general scolded himself.

He put his head in his palms, trying to will his blush away, but between the alcohol running in his system and Soonyoung hugging him like there was no tomorrow, it seemed impossible.

"Okay I'm not drinking anymore, just because I want to remember that moment forever." the steward declared, finally detaching himself from Jihoon.

Jihoon groaned, biting his lower lip. It was small comments like these that made everything so much harder. Moments like these that filled Jihoon with reckless hope, largely against his will. He stood up, grabbing Soonyoung by the arm.

“Wait, where are we going?” Soonyoung exclaimed, stumbling up from his seat.

"You need air. Come on." Jihoon said and started dragging the other towards the ballroom's balcony.

Surprisingly, the balcony was empty. Everyone was more interested in dancing and greeting the royal families inside. The two walked towards the end of the semicircle balcony. Soonyoung then grabbed the railing and let out a loud sound.

"Wooo Gisa rules!" he shouted like a five-year-old.

Jihoon laughed and grabbed his waist, making sure the other didn't fall over. When the fresh air hit him, the general realized he was indeed dizzy himself. He buried his face on Soonyoung's back, groaning.

"What's wrong Jihoonie?" the steward asked concerned.

" 'm dizzy." he mumbled, circling his hands around Soonyoung’s waist and pulling him back. "Go away from there, I don't want you to fall." he added.

"Aw I thought you were holding your liquor. What happened?" Soonyoung teased.

"Fresh air happened." Jihoon mumbled, breathing Soonyoung's scent in.

"So you will stop drinking too, right?" Soonyoung asked sweetly.

"Yeah." Jihoon nodded, deciding to stop being clingy.

He let go of Soonyoung and stepped away, leaning back on the wall, to look at the dark sky above. Soonyoung went and sat by his side.

"What are you thinking, oh great general?" Soonyoung whispered in his ear, as soon as he sat by his side.

Jihoon felt goosebumps running down his neck and pressed his cheek to his shoulder, trying to hide his side from the other.

"I'm not thinking. I'm just admiring the view." he said, shamelessly looking straight at Soonyoung. "But the sun is too bright to see the stars." he added with a smile.

Soonyoung tilled his head in confusion. "But there's no sun Jihoonie. It's almost midnight. That would be weird." he giggled.

"Yeah, my sun is usually a little weird." Jihoon nodded in agreement, smile never leaving his lips.

Soonyoung frowned. "Jihoonie, I think you're drunk." he said.

"No more than you." the general snickered. "Don’t be mad, but Seungkwan said that you should let loose a bit tonight and we kept refilling your drink." he confessed, not wanting to keep it a secret from his friend.

"And I was wondering why it wouldn't end." Soonyoung groaned.

"Are you okay?" Jihoon asked, putting a hand on Soonyoung's forehead.

"Just a little tipsy." Soonyoung grinned happily, his eyes forming little crescents.

Jihoon realized their faces were really close again. And Soonyoung was smiling. And he looked really good. Jihoon felt his eyes falling to his friend's lips.

"Hoonie. Your cheeks are red." Soonyoung observed.

"I-it's the alcohol." the general rushed to say, immediately moving away. _What am I doing?_ he thought desperately. _This is really bad, this is really, really bad._

"Are you sure?" the steward asked again, leaning more into Jihoon's private space.

Jihoon looked at him and again, his eyes unavoidably trailing back to his lips. Soonyoung had stopped smiling like before. There was something else in his eyes now. Jihoon gulped.

"Maybe you need some rest. What do you say? Should we call it a day?" Soonyoung whispered.

 _No,_ Jihoon thought. He wanted to stay with Soonyoung. "Do you want to sleep?" he asked. "Because I don't."

"Did I say anything about sleeping? We can just crash somewhere and relax." the steward grinned.

Jihoon eyed him for a moment but then nodded. "Yes. Let's get out of here." he agreed.

He didn't know why going somewhere private with Soonyoung sounded so great right now. His body felt hot. His mind filled with hazing noises, his vision blurring from time to time. He stood up, dizziness hitting him once again. He shouldn’t have drunk so much.

"I volunteer my room. What do you think?" Soonyoung said, placing a hand on Jihoon’s back to steady him.

"Sure. Whatever's closer." Jihoon replied and grabbed Soonyoung's shoulder.

The two walked through the ballroom as quickly as their tipsiness allowed and exited it without saying goodbye to anyone. This was so wrong, on so many levels. Both him and Soonyoung would probably get scolded for ditching the infamous engagement celebration like this.

Soonyoung giggled as they made their way downstairs, and Jihoon felt so happy with the sound. He grabbed Soonyoung's entire arm and brought him closer, his fogged mind not wanting any space between them. His heart rate had started rising, chest drumming in a weird staccato rhythm. Jihoon’s night was getting more intense as the hours passed.

When they reached Soonyoung's room, Jihoon's heart was ready to break out of his ribcage. Soonyoung unlocked the door and they slipped inside.

"Hey, your room is tidy for once." Jihoon said surprised.

"You're not funny Jihoonie." Soonyoung pouted.

"I'm not being funny. We can finally sit down like normal people." the general said and plopped on Soonyoung's bed.

Soonyoung sat beside him, shoulders rubbing together. The atmosphere was sweet, a comfortable silence stretching between them.

At some point, Jihoon grabbed the steward’s hand and brought it on his lap. "Your hands are pretty." he commented offhandedly, observing Soonyoung’s fingers.

"They are ordinary Jihoonie." Soonyoung said sweetly, smiling as he threaded his fingers with Jihoon's

Jihoon laughed and moved himself so he was laying on the bed. He brought Soonyoung down with him, their hands still interlinked.

"Everything about you seems special tonight." he mumbled closing his eyes.

"And you seem a lot brighter and sweeter today." Soonyoung lain beside him.

"Let's just… blame it on the alcohol, hm?" Jihoon brought Soonyoung's hand on his lips and kissed it.

"Jihoon why are you doing this to me?" Soonyoung mumbled low.

Jihoon looked him in the eyes. He wanted to play clueless, act like everything he did was because they were best friends. But he was tired of pretending. He had no power to hold himself back anymore, especially when Soonyoung was the one starting this frightening conversation.

"Right back at you." he replied, letting out a breath.

"Jihoon... have I ever told you how cute you are?" Soonyoung said knowing that the general didn't like to be called that, but saying it anyway. This was his last warning, the last chance for Jihoon to back away.

"Cute?" Jihoon closed his eyes again and snuggled closer to Soonyoung. No warning was enough at this point. “You think that's cute?" he added, innocently blinking.

"Very cute." Soonyoung whispered, leaning close to the general, their noses touching.

"I don't want to be cute though." Jihoon whispered and cupped Soonyoung's cheek with his hand. "You're doing a great job for both of us."

When Soonyoung didn't reply, Jihoon looked at his lips for the third time that night. The steward was breathing heavier than usual. Jihoon closed his eyes, letting himself accept whatever was going to happen.

Seconds seemed like minutes. He could sense Soonyoung’s hesitance. He could almost hear the cogs in his brain twisting, analyzing the options he had. But Jihoon knew how Soonyoung thought. He was a spontaneous man, more invested to the present rather than the consequences the future would bring.

So when he felt the steward taking a small breath, he knew what was coming. Soonyoung shuffled forward, locking their lips in a shy kiss. It was just a peck, to test the waters, to make sure he hadn't been reading this all wrong. Soonyoung leaned away too quickly.

A tiny grin tugged at the corner of Jihoon’s mouth as his eyelashes trembled, eyes still closed. His hand on Soonyoung’s cheek slid back on his neck and he sighed, puffing up his lips, waiting for another kiss.

Soonyoung couldn't resist him, Jihoon knew that much. He dived in, his soft lips rubbing against Jihoon's sweetly. His hand snaked around the general’s waist bringing their bodies closer and closer.

Jihoon groaned when Soonyoung dragged him on top of his chest.

Finally. _Finally._

Jihoon didn’t let him move further. As soon as he was comfortable on top of him, he cupped Soonyoung's face with his hands, forcing his mouth to open more so he could deepen the kiss. He wanted to explore Soonyoung's entire body, he had wanted that for so long, even if he had never admitted it.

Jihoon used his tongue to explore Soonyoung’s mouth, pressing it against the other’s or using it to tingle his palate. He then sucked on his lips, nibbling them gently and making Soonyoung moan from the sudden sensations.

Thought it didn't remain that way for long. Apparently, Soonyoung wanted to take the maters in his own hands. With a quick move he flipped them over, changing their position so that he could be on top. He broke the kiss looking straight in Jihoon's eyes, their foreheads touching. They were already breathless, panting noises filling the space between them.

"You make me feel so many things Jihoon." he whispered, kissing the general's jawline.

"Yeah." Jihoon sighed. "You too. You have no idea how hard I tried to fight this, but..." he trailed off, as Soonyoung trailed down, biting small pieces on his collarbones.

His shirt was in the way though, Soonyoung wouldn't be able to reach anywhere else while Jihoon was wearing it. Was that a line they wanted to cross? They must have been having the same thoughts, because not a heartbeat away, Soonyoung returned to the general's face, eyes open and as serious as possible in that situation.

"Tell me what you want Jihoon." he asked seriously.

Jihoon opened his eyes as well. Looking at Soonyoung like that, some of his anxieties and insecurities came back. It was all out in the open now, there was no room to doubt what either of them wanted, what they felt. If they stopped now, would their friendship manage to go back to what it used to be?

 _Absolutely not_.

Jihoon wanted Soonyoung so bad, all of him. He had waited too long, restraining himself and his wild attraction. It had tired him off. And now, that he was mentally exhausted, slightly intoxicated and his body felt hot, now that his best friend was finally on top of him… Was there really any chance to resist him?

_Absolutely not._

"I... I want that." he reached his hands around Soonyoung's neck. "I want all of it. I want _you_ so much, it hurts." Jihoon whispered, bringing Soonyoung down for another kiss "Only if you do too, though." he added.

"You have no idea how much I want you Jihoon. Every inch of your body. I want all of you as well." Soonyoung mumbled, placing butterfly kisses to every corner of Jihoon's face.

"Alright." Jihoon said, shoving all his hesitations as far back on his head as possible. "I don't know how this works though." he added uncertainly.

"We will find out together." Soonyoung smiled sweetly and kissed Jihoon's lips once again.

The kiss changed quickly from small peck to a full, heated make out. The steward's lips were like honey, sweet addicting. Jihoon couldn’t stop kissing them. He felt the other’s hands start caressing his body, tracing every part of it with his fingers.

But it wasn't enough. Soonyoung as it seemed, wanted more. He let out a whine between their connected lips.

"Can you take your shirt off?" he asked Jihoon.

"You can do that for me." Jihoon hummed, lacing his fingers in Soonyoung's blonde roots.

The steward grinned and he began unbuttoning Jihoon’s silky shirt. With every button he undid a feathery pecked followed. It was a way to reassure Jihoon that every was gonna be alright.

Jihoon felt heat blooming wherever Soonyoung's lips touched him. Soonyoung started low, close to the place all the heat was gathering and he slowly made his way up. He pecked his tummy, his defined abdomen, up above his stomach and the slope on his chest. When he finally got rid of his shirt, Jihoon had lost his ability to think straight.

The shirt was on the floor in seconds. Soonyoung touched Jihoon's bare skin. His fingertips were like feathers, tracing every curve, every muscle on the general's body. Then the steward dived for Jihoon's neck, nuzzling in the crook and licking the droplets of sweat they were forming. He moved towards his ear, taking the earlobe in his front teeth, biting it lightly. The tip of his tongue darted out, playing with the soft part.

Jihoon groaned and turned his head compliantly, giving more room for the other to play. Soonyoung trailed downwards again, mouthing around his collarbones and reaching his chest. He took a nipple in his mouth experimentally, and Jihoon's hand shot in front of his face, trying to muffle the keen sound that forced its way out from his mouth.

He felt Soonyoung smirking on top of his skin. Apparently, he liked the reaction because, oh God, he kept on playing with the sensitive bud, circling his tongue around it, biting and sucking it. But Soonyoung decided that it wasn't enough, so he took the other nipple between his point finger and thumb rubbing it gently. He twisted it between his fingers, rising it in attention.

Jihoon’s mind spun, his nerves tingling under his muscles. It felt so good, but he didn't want to let Soonyoung do all the work. He had wanted to mark that pretty neck from the beginning of the night.

"Soonyoung come on..." Jihoon murmured, his voice gruff and throaty.

When the steward finally stopped his assault, Jihoon lifted his head up, looking at him "My turn." he smirked and flipped them over.

Jihoon went first for the lips. He kissed them passionately, sucking and licking. After that, Soonyoung's cheeks. Those sinful, puffy cheeks that the steward had; it was Jihoon's biggest weakness on him. He bit his cheekbones lightly, letting out hushed dirty sounds.

When Soonyoung let out a sound of his own, Jihoon started attacking his neck. He mouthed and bit the same spot under his jawline, until Soonyoung was a groaning mess and a nice bruise had formed. Jihoon leaned back, eyeing the purple petal that bloomed on the steward’s porcelain skin.

He grinned in satisfaction, making Soonyoung throw him an unamused look. The general laughed, pecking his mouth again, before he sat back on Soonyoung's lap.

"So how are we doing this?" he asked, slowly unbuttoning the steward's fancy shirt.

"How do you want it to be?" Soonyoung said, lifting himself up to kiss Jihoon jaw as the other peeled his clothes off.

Jihoon let his hands trail down his friend's torso and stomach, returning back up while caressing his sides and Soonyoung smiled at the soft touch. Jihoon imagined himself kissing that body everywhere, holding down his wrists and taking care of him in the most intimate way. But the reality was different.

It was probably in the way Soonyoung was looking at him, all caring and gentle. It made Jihoon weak, like he always was next to the other. He didn't get to enjoy his weakness a lot in his life, being the imposing and strict general he was. So now that he had the chance, he got up from Soonyoung's lap and laid down, bringing the other's body on top of him again.

"I trust you." he said and kissed his cheek sweetly.

Soonyoung smiled down on him, booping their noses together.

"I’ll take care of you my love." he whispered erotically. “Tell me what you want. Your wish is my command.”

"Oh my god..." Jihoon chuckled, hiding his face again. "Just... do whatever." was his intelligent reply.

Soonyoung laughed under his breath at Jihoon's rapidly reddening face. He leaned in further, pecking Jihoon’s knuckles to shoo his hands away from his face.

"Tell me if you want me to stop." he mumbled nosing his cheekbone sweetly.

The general nodded taking a deep breath to prepare himself mentally.

Soonyoung started off again with kissing Jihoon’s body, easing the tension away. With every touch of his mouth, a small red spot appeared on the general's pale skin. The steward slithered down and down, until he reached the others belly bottom. He settled there, licking fat stripes, his lips barely brushing against his body.

Jihoon felt like all his blood had trailed downwards, adding to his previous dizziness. Still, he never took his eyes off Soonyoung, burning the image of his childhood friend mouthing the sensitive skin above his navel in his head. Soonyoung had lowered his breeches slightly, lightly biting his hipbones. His hands were on the slope of Jihoon's waist, comforting and reassuring. Keeping Jihoon grounded.

Soonyoung moved further towards Jihoon's center until his mouth reached almost a centimeter away of his member. And there he stayed. He was nibbling around the sensitive part, not doing anything else.

"My god, Soonyoung please..." Jihoon breathed, slightly bucking his hips.

"Patience." Soonyoung mumbled, his mouth leaving Jihoon's body only to return back to his lips.

Then one of the steward’s hands came to cup Jihoon's cock, rubbing it gently. Jihoon sighed against Soonyoung's lips, breaking the kiss. He didn't realize at which point of the night he had gotten hard, but he definitely was. And there was no denying it anymore, this was all because of Soonyoung. Any last inhibitions about their decision to proceed flew out of the window.

He kissed Soonyoung with new fervor, tangling his hands in his hair and moving his hips, seeking more friction. The steward's palm felt so good. It was revealing some of Jihoon's heat, but he wanted more. He needed Soonyoung to touch him more.

"Pants off?" he whispered and Soonyoung nodded.

The steward’s hand slipped around his thin belt and bent down again, settling between Jihoon’s legs. Much like he did with his shirt, he began trailing kisses at every piece of newly exposed skin. Jihoon held his breath, his heart thumbing in anticipation.

The cloth started slipping down slowly and cold air hit Jihoon's skin. Soonyoung patted him lightly on his butt, signaling him to lift his hips. Jihoon obeyed and with a smooth move Soonyoung peeled off the cloth, throwing it on the floor to join the two shirts.

Soonyoung sat on his knees, eyes filled with admiration roaming all over the general’s body. His gaze then fell on Jihoon’s private parts. His member was bouncing lightly on his stomach, hard and flushed. Precum leaked from the slit, dripping all the way to his navel.

"You’re so beautiful Jihoonie." Soonyoung groaned and started caressing the general's thighs. "My love is a piece of art." he whispered as he brought one thing near his face, sucking the soft flesh of the underside.

Jihoon was left speechless. He was a little embarrassed to be bare like this, but it was for Soonyoung. The steward made sure to spread kisses all over both his thighs, making Jihoon's legs tremble. Before he could get impatient again, Soonyoung leaned down and tried licking his member.

A feeling like whiplash shot through Jihoon's body, making the general buck his hips. Soonyoung smiled evilly and without second thought dived in again. He mouthed Jihoon’s length lightly, the tip of his tongue trailing up and down, small breaths escaping his lips.

"Soon- Soonyoung..." Jihoon whined, clenching the blond roots between his fingertips.

Then finally Soonyoung took him in his mouth. Jihoon let out a gasp, the air being punched out from his lungs. He lifted his head, staring down again, memorizing Soonyoung's lips and puffy cheek wrapped around his cock. He would be thinking about that image for a _long_ time.

Soonyoung began bobbing his head slowly, swirling his tongue at the best of his ability.

Jihoon felt his body flaring up. He hadn't experienced anything like that in his life, ever. Soonyoung made him feel _so_ hot. Made him feel _so_ good. His warm mouth enveloped his dick, making a knot form at his lower stomach.

Soonyoung wrapped his palm at the underside of Jihoon’s member, using it to touch whatever his mouth couldn't fit. Jihoon bit his lip. If this kept up for long...

The intoxication from the alcohol was still running through his veins, making him more sensitive. It was only after a few more bobs, that Jihoon tapped Soonyoung's head. The other rose from his position, letting the member slide out of his mouth with a small pop. He looked at the general with wide eyes, a string of saliva still connecting him with Jihoon's member. Jihoon groaned at the sight.

"I won't hold on for much longer… if you continue like this." he mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Alright then." Soonyoung smiled and leaned on his knees, away from Jihoon's center. "Give me the pillow please." he said and stretched his hand out.

Jihoon took the soft pillow from behind his head and passed it to him. Soonyoung took it, flashing back a smile.

"Up." he gestured, patting him on the butt cheek.

Jihoon was too in haze to resist. He closed his eyes and felt Soonyoung's hands touching him lower than before, rubbing circles on his perineum. Jihoon squirmed his waist, but Soonyoung steadied his hip with a laugh.

"Easy there." he chuckled.

He sounded thoughtful, his movements getting slower. Jihoon opened his eyes to look at him staring at his bottom, biting his lips in thought.

"What's wrong?" the general asked, trying to close his legs.

"Nothing, love." Soonyoung smiled and then stood up from his bed. He went towards his dresser and opened it. He hummed lightly, searching inside of a cabinet.

"Here it is." the steward announced triumphally. He turned around and closed the dresser with his heel. Jihoon saw a small earthenware pot on his hand.

"What's this?" he asked, sitting up.

"This is a vial with aromatic oil, my love." Soonyoung explained, climbing on the bed again.

He opened the pot and Jihoon leaned in to smell. Lavender, a flower with such a strong smell yet so gentle to the touch. Just like Soonyoung.

Speaking of him, the steward took the chance and leaned closer to Jihoon’s ear to whisper; "We need it to make you a little wet."

Jihoon lift his chin, a mischievous smirk marring his lips. He then grabbed Soonyoung from the bicep and lied back down, pulling the other on top of him, kissing him hungrily.

The steward tried to balance by perching his arms next to Jihoon's head, still holding the oil.

"Woah there. Eager, are we?" Soonyoung smirked.

"I can't help it with the way you talk to me." Jihoon bit his lip seductively.

Soonyoung groaned at the sight. "Come on love. Let's finish what we started." he winked.

He gave one last peck to the general and then shuffled down his body brushing his lips all the way until his cock where he placed one more kiss. Soonyoung took the pillow and placed it under Jihoon's waist. When the general had made himself comfortable the steward grabbed his knees and spread his legs, settling between them. He then dipped a finger in his oil and started tracing circles around Jihoon's hole.

Jihoon’s eyes fluttered close unconsciously, a deep breath filling his lungs as he prepared himself. Soonyoung’s other hand came to his thigh, his gentle fingers drawing mindless patterns, trying to distract as he began slipping the edge of his finger in.

Jihoon's body stiffened. "It burns." he winched, his hands flying between his thighs in a weak attempt to halt the steward.

Soonyoung shushed him softly. He took one of Jihoon’s hands in his, wrapping them around the general’s aching cock, pumping it slowly.

"I know love. It's okay, it will feel better, I promise." he whispered softly, his finger slipping further inside Jihoon's hole.

Jihoon was caught between the pleasure his dick received and the uncomfortable stretch of his rim. He buried his face in the junction of his shoulder, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Wai-Wait. Stay still for a bit." he panted, making Soonyoung stop his hand about two knuckles in.

The steward hummed, pecking his kneecap. He then leaned forward taking the shaft of Jihoon’s cock between his lips. "Take your time love." he said licking his slit.

Jihoon was divided between strong arousal and aching. Soonyoung’s finger felt uncomfortable, passing through his tight walls. They stayed like that for a while, Soonyoung lazily mouthing his member trying to relax Jihoon’s stressed muscles. Thankfully though the burning inside him started to fade, the waves of pleasure becoming more intense.

"You can move it Soonyoung." he whispered.

Soonyoung let go of his dick, and slowly begun pushing his finger deeper. Jihoon clenched his hands on the sheets, willing his body to stay calm. When it was all the way inside, the general let out a deep gasp, opening his eyes. They met with Soonyoung’s, who had hovered above Jihoon, placing a peck on his cheek.

"Can I still move?" he asked softly.

Jihoon sighed and gave him a small nod. Soonyoung smiled and slowly pulled his finger out, thrusting it back in almost immediately. Jihoon moaned through his teeth, blindly patting around the bed for the steward’s hand. When he found it, he brought it back to his cock, making the other huff a laugh.

After a while, Jihoon started to loosen up. The pain had stopped, entirely giving its way to pleasure as Soonyoung kept curling his finger inside his heat. It was when Soonyoung pressed against a particular spot inside him that Jihoon jolted up, a long moan leaving his lips.

"Woah. You okay?" Soonyoung asked, halting all his movements.

Jihoon panted, his eyes wide in shock. "Soonyoung..." he whispered. "Whatever you did... Do it again."

Soonyoung looked at him curiously, but he didn’t question it. He just slithered his finger further inside, pressing the pad on the same place.

Jihoon felt it again. It was like someone had dumbed a bucket with freezing water all over him. Every muscle, every nerve came to life, making his body seize. Another sound was out of his lips, high pitched and whinny.

The steward looked at him surprised. "Well." he smirked "Someone has a sensitive spot." he teased, taking the chance to assault the said spot. 

After only a few more thrusts, Jihoon started loosening up considerably. His knees fall wide apart, his vision getting unfocused as Soonyoung continued pleasing him. But that wasn’t enough. Jihoon found himself craving more.

"S- Soonyoung please, more." he said between shallow breaths.

“As you wish my love.” Soonyoung mumbled and started entering one more finger, not forgetting first to dip it into the oil.

The second finger was received faster than the first. Jihoon's breaths became shallow and rigid, his torso spasming with the force of the air took to get out of his lungs. 

Soonyoung leaned down to kiss Jihoon's chest. "Do you like it, baby?" he asked, obviously figuring out how much his dirty talk aroused the general.

Jihoon whined at the pet name. Soonyoung's sex voice was so rough, it sent goosebumps down his spine. Jihoon felt his hole loosening up more. He moved, grinding against Soonyoung's fingers.

"One more... Soon-...please." he huffed. He couldn't believe how needy he had become.

Soonyoung coated a last finger with the oil. He kept looking Jihoon in the eye as he inserted it, but the other couldn't hold his gaze for long. Soonyoung curled all three of his fingers again, hitting that spot, and Jihoon arched his back, whining loudly. The steward kept thrusting his fingers, using his free hand to palm his own hard on above his breeches. He groaned breathily, making sure Jihoon heard him.

"Jihoon... You're so sexy. I can't take it anymore." Soonyoung growled, slipping his hand inside his pants, pumping himself.

"S-Soonyoung this feels...Oh my God!" Jihoon moaned.

"Are you ready baby?" Soonyoung asked between pants. "I have something longer I can fill you with." he winked.

Jihoon groaned just by the thought. He nodded, a little too eagerly, but who could blame him in this situation.

"Alright." Soonyoung said, slowly pulling his fingers out. Jihoon whined at the sudden emptiness. "Shh. Can you stand on your knees love?" he asked gently.

"Yes..." Jihoon answered between a shaky breath as he crawled up on his wobbly knees.

"Good job love." Soonyoung praised and pecked his lips. "Face the wall behind you for me." he ordered.

Jihoon did as he was told. Soonyoung quickly got rid of his own pants and then snaked his hands around Jihoon's waist.

"Such a good boy..." he whispered at his neck, sucking his nape, two fingers tracing Jihoon's hole again.

"Come on Soon, you've teased enough." Jihoon said, bucking up his hips a bit.

"Alright, alright." Soonyoung chuckled. He guided Jihoon to stand on all fours and took the oil again in his hands. He poured some on the general's butt, spreading it inside his heat, before coating his own cock. Soonyoung gave his dick some pumps to ease the tension and then lined up with the twitching rim.

"Jihoon I'm going in.” the other announced, circling the tip of his cock on Jihoon’s rim. “Try to relax, okay?" he said and started pushing in slowly.

Soonyoung’s cock was definitely bigger than his fingers. Jihoon let out a shaky breath, the uncomfortable burning feeling coming back. He closed his eyes tightly, breathing through his nose. Soonyoung let out a groan when he was halfway inside. He paused though, his forehead falling between Jihoon’s shoulder blades.

"Can I continue?" he asked with a tight voice.

Jihoon left out a soft whimper. “Yeah…” he groaned.

Soonyoung understood. So, he snaked a hand around Jihoon’s waist, wrapping his palm around the leaking length, playing with it as he bottomed up. Jihoon groaned when he felt Soonyoung completely inside him. He was so uncomfortably stretched but he didn't care. It felt good.

The steward didn't move, waiting for Jihoon to get used to his size. He kept pumping Jihoon's cock, scratching the slit and teasing the shaft. Occasionally he touched the balls too, anything that could distract his friend from the burning.

"I'm okay." the general breathed. "You can move." he mumbled, deciding to ignore the small ache.

He wanted this too much to wait anymore. Soonyoung pulled back a little and thrust back up, barely moving. He sighed, burring his face in Jihoon's nape.

"God, you're so tight." he groaned. "I've been dreaming about this, you know?"

"Really? What kind of dreams?" Jihoon managed to say.

"The sexiest and best ones." Soonyoung declared and thrusted once more, this time deeper.

Jihoon moaned. "Ah! I-I've been having… ugh dreams like that too." he confessed, his voice breaking.

"Then I'm so happy that I'm making them true." Soonyoung voiced, his pace starting to increase. He slammed in and out of Jihoon, groaning loudly. The rhythm of his hand had matched the pace of his thrusts, making Jihoon a moaning mess underneath him.

"My god, Jihoon." Soonyoung said. "Fuck, baby." he breathed tightening his grip on Jihoon's waist.

Jihoon couldn't move, his legs felt like they had stopped working and his arms were about to give out any moment now. If it wasn't for Soonyoung's support, he would have already toppled off.

The knot in his stomach was becoming tighter with every thrust. "Soon- Soonyoung I can't any longer..." Jihoon moaned.

"Alright baby. Cum. Cum for me." Soonyoung growled, biting hard on his nape.

"Ah! Fuck." with a curse Jihoon tightened and relaxed all at once, white strips of hot cum shooting from his slit. His eyes rolled back, making him see stars. The tension was so much that Jihoon had to hold on to the wall for dear life.

Soonyoung sucked his shoulder to muffle a whine as Jihoon's walls got tighter. He kept thrusting, letting his lover ride his orgasm, chasing his own release.

Jihoon whined from overstimulation as he came down from his high. He clenched around Soonyoung, determined to make him cum too. The steward moaned as he felt Jihoon's fingers massaging his balls.

"Baby...Oh God. Jihoon I'm cumming." he groaned softly.

"Hmmm." Jihoon said softly, his eyes closed.

Soonyoung's arms went all around his torso, hugging him tightly as he released inside him with a high-pitched moan. It was a strange sensation to be filled with something warm, but the general welcomed it. Soonyoung moved a couple more times, before stilling inside Jihoon.

The general took one of the steward’s palms from around his waist, kissing it gently, not caring about it being covered with their fluids. "You good?" he asked quietly.

"Never been better." Soonyoung smiled. He hissed as he pulled out, laying face down on the bed.

"Do you have a towel or something?" Jihoon asked, laying down next to him.

The feeling of cum dripping out of his asshole was not the most pleasurable in the world.

"On it." Soonyoung mumbled and stood up trailing towards his dresser again. He took out a towel, wet it with a little water from the bowl he was using every morning to clean his face and then returned.

"Spread your legs." he winked but Jihoon was too far gone to feel embarrassed anymore.

Once he did, Soonyoung sat between them, wiping away everything he could. He then cleaned the cum from his own hand and whatever had dripped on the sheets. Once he was finished, he tossed the towel away and shuffled next to Jihoon.

"How you're feeling?" Soonyoung asked nuzzling in the crook of Jihoon's neck.

"Tired. But satisfied." Jihoon answered, letting Soonyoung envelope him in his arms. "I want to sleep." he grumbled, his head was still spinning after all.

"How was it?" Soonyoung asked again.

"Great. Amazing. You're amazing." Jihoon mumbled half asleep.

Soonyoung laughed. "Sleep tight love." he whispered, kissing Jihoon's cheek before he also drifted to sleep.

That night, Jihoon slept like a baby. It was the last night he had been able to sleep so well.

~*~

The next morning, Jihoon woke to someone brushing his hair away from his forehead, putting them behind his ear. It was such a nice feeling, that for a moment he didn't want to question anything about it. But then he remembered.

The engagement party. The wine. Soonyoung at the balcony. Soonyoung at his bedroom. Soonyoung and him _doing things_ in his bedroom.

Suddenly he leapt up, knocking the hand that was caressing him off. Soonyoung was beside him. His chest was bare, and Jihoon realized he was naked as well.

As panic began filling him, the thing he remembered the clearest was the scared look Soonyoung gave him.

_What had they done?_

"What's wrong?" Soonyoung asked cautiously.

"Everything, Soonyoung, oh my god!" Jihoon tried to get up but realized he was still naked and sat back down, the sheets covering his middle part. "This is illegal."

"I didn't see you caring about that yesterday though." Soonyoung said, siting up as well.

"I..." Jihoon began, but he honestly didn't know what to say.

He had wanted it. He had wanted it a lot more than he would ever admit to himself, and he still wanted it. But now his defenses were up, he could think straight again, with no alcohol fogging his mind.

"No, Soonyoung, this was a mistake. I didn't... It was nice okay? But it should have never happened."

"Why... We had a great time, right?" Soonyoung asked.

"We can get arrested Soonyoung. They can kill us. They _will_ kill us if anyone ever finds out. And there is no way that nobody will ever find out, it's a small castle." the general continued panicking. "I absolutely cannot let you die."

"We can keep it between us. Then no one will know." Soonyoung mumbled.

"How can you be so calm, Soonyoung?!" Jihoon shook his shoulders "We can't. _We can't._ We have to keep away from each other."

It pained the general as he said it. Deep inside him, he knew it was the terror speaking. If he wanted to be a proper friend at least, he should sit down and talk to Soonyoung about it, let the other help him calm down. But he couldn't let himself do that when Soonyoung’s life was on the line.

“What? Stay away from each? Jihoon I can't do that? No!" In Soonyoung's eyes hurt appeared.

"Do you prefer if we die together in like a month? No way. There are some rules around here and I'm the general, I have to make sure they are enforced. I can't be the one that breaks them! And I will never be good enough for you." he said that last part a little quieter. "It's for the best if we stop this now. Get rid of any sort of attachment."

"Jihoon do you hear yourself?!" the steward raised his voice. "What you are asking is impossible. No attachments? No way! You're too important to me to let you go like that." he said. Tears had started gathering in his eyes, bottom lip wobbling slightly.

Jihoon wanted to hit himself. They had such a good night and here he was, ruining everything. But he had to. What they felt was illegal, something worth of killing them both. "You have to Soonyoung. For your own good.” Jihoon insisted. “Aren't you scared at all?" he asked.

"I am. Terrified. But I'm more scared of stop talking to you." Soonyoung sniffed.

Jihoon took a deep breath. He wanted more than anything to wrap his arms around Soonyoung, wipe his tears away. But he couldn't. He was a general and he had to make sacrifices. Sure, it made him a coward in the face of his emotions, but it also made him someone strong enough to save Soonyoung. In the end, that's all that mattered.

He didn't say anything, hastily picking up his clothes. His backside hurt and it felt sticky. Another grim reminder of the night the two spend together. Soonyoung kept sniffing quietly, but Jihoon kept ignoring him.

"Can we at least write to each other?" Soonyoung questioned between his cries.

"Write letters?" Jihoon asked with a frown. "How are we going to deliver them? We really can't-"

"Please Jihoon. Just letters. We can say it's for work. After all we are the steward and the general." Soonyoung pleaded. "And I will never speak to you again in person, I promise. Just don't cut me off like that."

Jihoon considered his words. _He must be thinking that after a while I will take back my words, that everything will return to normal,_ Jihoon thought.

The general knew that wasn't the case. He hadn't been strong enough to cast away his feelings before it was too late, but now, with Soonyoung's life on the line, he would definitely be strong enough to keep him away.

It really was only letters though. And even after everything, he didn't want Soonyoung to think he was cold-hearted.

"Okay. Once a week." he agreed hesitantly.

Soonyoung nodded, knowing that if he disagreed the general might change his mind.

"Once a week."

And with that, Jihoon exited Soonyoung's room and never set his foot in it again.

~*~

_*Back to the present*_

"The letters lasted for about a month." Soonyoung said, staring at his empty teacup. "We didn't have much to talk about. I always double checked whenever I wrote something, I couldn't just utter whatever came to my mind like I used to. One day, I wrote a letter which I never sent. And that was the end of it."

Chan was sitting on his chair, eyes wide, all his attention on Soonyoung.

"From that day I haven't properly talked to Jihoon in person..." he sighed deeply. "At first it hurt so much. But I could understand where he was coming from. It turned out we were both cowards. We let our happiness fly right out of our hands. We didn't have a choice. After all he, is the general and I am the head steward." he said a single tear leaving his eye.

Chan looked at him for a while, lost in thought. _So that's why he helped Minghao free Mingyu so fast. He felt like it was justice._

"Hyung, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry you had to go through all this alone." Chan mumbled, looking at the floor as well.

After that night, the young valet had become all too familiar with same-gendered relationships to be bothered by the nature of attachment his hyungs had.

"It's okay I guess... You get used to loneliness after a while." Soonyoung sighed.

"You're not alone anymore, okay? I know now. Next time I see general Jihoon I will purposely spill tea on him." Chan said, standing to hug his friend.

Soonyoung chuckled. "I don't know what I would do without you Channie. I'm so glad you didn’t leave me." he whispered as he hugged back the younger.

"We were worried for you, you know. Seokjin knew from the beginning that something bad had happened between you two. The rest of us thought it was just an argument, it would just go away. But then you got back at being cheerful, all loud and smiley and we stopped worrying until you became sad like this again. I'm sorry for not noticing anything earlier." Chan apologized again.

"My sweet Channie. You didn't do anything wrong. Thank you for being here. You and Seokmin and Seokjin hyung. Mingyu, Minghao and Seungkwan. You made my every day special and cheerful. You're the nicest people I've ever met." Soonyoung cried.

"Don't cry hyung, come on. You are precious to all of us. We wouldn't be as happy without you here." Chan patted his back "Mingyu and Minghao realized their dream, no matter how crazy it sounded, and no matter how much crazier it turned out to be. If they did it, we can too."

Soonyoung wiped his tears away with the back of his hand.

"Do you really believe we can make it? After all this mess… When the king finds out what happened, it is gonna be one of the worst days on this kingdom." Soonyoung sighed. "I just hope that Jihoon will be okay. I don't want to watch him die. I won't survive that." he whispered.

Chan hadn't thought about that. The king would figure that they managed to escape through the tunnels. If Jihoon was the only person apart from the king that was supposed to know about these tunnels, wouldn't that make him a traitor in the king's eyes?

And Soonyoung couldn't even speak up to take the blame, because he wasn't supposed to know about the tunnels in the first place. Chan didn't know the general as well as some of his friends did, but he prayed nothing bad happened to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for today guys!
> 
> (*big sigh*) So here is where we have to admit something. When we started off with this story at first, we didn't have a specific plan about Soonyoung's and Jihoon's ships. We were kind of divided between Soonhoon, Soonchan and Seokhoon, thus the interaction Jihoon and Soonyoung have with them. We did say to each other that we will go on with whatever comes naturally to us so........ Soonhoon won?
> 
> Anyway that was a small side note- clarification. It has nothing to do with the actual story. 
> 
> So! I hope you liked the small break and as always we are waiting for your opinion at the comments below. 
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy and festive (since you know it's christams and all)
> 
> -SkWh


	14. Just listen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO EVERYONE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!  
> I wish 2021 bring back to you whatever last year took away together with many many more things!!!
> 
> With the begining of the new year continues our own adventure too! Yes, exactly! We are back on our trail again!!!
> 
> But no more words, let's move on.
> 
> So without further ado....
> 
> Enjoy~~~~

Somewhere far away from the castle, four riders came to a stop. They had been traveling all night without breaks, hiding from anyone that might have attempted to follow them. Minghao had a crazy smile on his face most of the time, his adrenaline not going down even for a second. His eyes trailed frantically from the scenery he saw for the first time to the people who made up their little group.

Never in a million years he had expected to find himself in a situation like this.

When the sun rose, Wonwoo noticeably slowed down. He was the one leading them, so they all slowed down for him. Even then, he managed to stay on his horse for two more hours, until he let out a pained sound and came to a stop in a place surrounded by thick bushes. Immediately, Mingyu and Junhui dismounted their horses and walked over to him to see what happened.

"Are you okay? Do you want to take a break?" Mingyu asked at once, touching Wonwoo's knee.

"Wonwoo, we're a safe distance from Gisa now, if you need medical attention..." Junhui started as well.

He didn’t manage to finish his sentence though. Wonwoo fell off his horse in his arms. It caused a wave of shocked exclamations from everyone, and Minghao jumped off his horse immediately. This was more serious than he had thought. When he came closer, he saw Wonwoo was panting, sweat covering his forehead and upper neck.

"Wonwoo?" Junhui tried, gently patting his cheek to get him to respond.

"Wonwoo!" Mingyu shouted, a lot less calm.

Wonwoo looked at them with unseeing eyes for a few moments, trying to say something, before they closed shut and he fell unconscious. The time after this was a blur of movement, of tying horses, of laying their wounded friend on the floor, of smacking Mingyu in the head to stop him from betraying their location with his loud voice.

The next thing Minghao remembered, Wonwoo was waking up. They had laid him on a dark cape at the ground, a tree blocking the sun from hurting his eyes. His head was on Mingyu's lap, his boyfriend caressing his hair softly. Mingyu’s face looked like it had aged ten years, but he was so relieved at seeing Wonwoo’s eyes fluttering open.

"Mingyu?" Wonwoo said, his voice sounding hoarse. They had opened his cloak and the top buttons of his shirt to let him breathe better, so his chest was visible as it went up and down from his breathing.

"Wonwoo. Are you alright love? What happened?" Mingyu started bombing him with questions.

"I'm fine." the knight said. "I just need a small break." he added and tried to move his hand on his side.

He winced at the touch.

"We need to find a doctor or something." Minghao said decisively. "Is there any short of town or village around here?" he asked the injured.

"I think there's a small village behind the mountains but I've never been there." Wonwoo groaned.

"Wonwoo let me take a look at you." Junhui said, coming closer.

Wonwoo unwrapped his hand and let Junhui fully unbutton his shirt, pulling it away enough to see the wound. There was a very nasty bruise forming on his pale skin. It was purple all over, with some splotches of pure red. The yellow signs of healing were nowhere to be found. Junhui pushed his hand a few centimeters away from the bruise, somewhere where Wonwoo wouldn't normally feel pain, and pressed down gently. Still, the knight groaned and slapped Junhui's hand away.

"Shoot. This isn't good." Junhui mumbled as he continued pressing around Wonwoo's stomach only for the knight to let out the same hissing sound.

"What's wrong with him?" Mingyu asked alarmed.

"And since when are you the expert?" Minghao added.

"It's just that the bruise is a bit deeper than it seems." Junhui told them. "We should go towards the direction Wonwoo said. If there is indeed a village there, maybe we can find something to help him." he said, buttoning Wonwoo's shirt again.

"Let's go then." Minghao got up. "I'm assuming you're staying here?" he looked at Mingyu.

The other nodded sadly. There was no way he could leave Wonwoo now. Minghao slowly turned to Junhui, who smiled exaggeratedly and patted him on the shoulder.

"It seems I will be your guard for your walk today, my prince." he said.

Minghao huffed. "Come on Junhui we don't have time for this." he said climbing up his horse.

The knight did the same, and together they left trying to find something to help their friend. Luckily, they didn’t have to ride for long. As Wonwoo had said, there was indeed a small village, lying a few kilometers away from where they had stopped.

"Hey." Junhui called when they saw the civilization in the distance.

"What?"

"I can't call you prince or be overly polite to you in general anymore, little one." Junhui said cheekily. "It would be too suspicious."

Minghao glared at him. "Don't you dare to call me that again." he said through his teeth.

"Just Minghao then? Will that do?" Junhui asked his smile never faltering. Minghao rolled his eyes. "And you'll call me hyung?"

"I told you, not even on my dying breath." Minghao shouted. "…But Minghao will do for now." he huffed.

Minghao always liked to think that he was above his title. He always let Mingyu and Chan address him casually. But when Junhui said his name, he always managed to add a dose of irony in it, like he was perpetually mocking him. It was so annoying, and now he was doomed to hear him speaking casually for the rest of his life.

_The rest of my life, huh?_ Minghao thought, pursing his lips. It hadn't really sunk in yet, but it was true. He always knew that he wanted Mingyu in his life forever, but now that also meant Wonwoo and... Junhui. They were the new people he had to rely on. He was going to have to survive with them in the wild, a place he had never been before. Junhui sure was annoying, but he belonged in Minghao's little group too. Maybe he had to be more gentle with him.

"We're almost in the village little Minghao, try not to get separated from me~" Junhui cooed.

_I'll never be gentle with you,_ Minghao frowned, pressing his horse to go faster and speeding past Junhui.

"Hey wait up!" Junhui shouted, still laughing.

They finally reached the small town. They passed through its gate and slowed down.

"Let's try to find someone or something that help Wonwoo okay?" Junhui said, more serious.

Minghao nodded, but he was too busy looking at the small village in awe to pay much attention. It was… nothing like Gisa. There were no tall buildings made of stone, no pebbled roads. The houses were short, crooked. Wooden signs separated the stores from the actual houses, but even they were too little. The village was very… small. Minghao could see with his bare eyes where it ended, and the road continued.

And the people. They were so different. They didn't wear fashionable clothes. Their rags were there to simply cover their skin, not to impress anyone. Some had tired faces and some were looking at the two horses a little wearily. There were a bunch of kids that played in a clearing a few meters away. They were loud and messy, getting dirt all over themselves and their surroundings. Suddenly, Minghao felt grateful for his black cloak. Even if the fine material did attract people's eyes, it was not comparable to the actual clothes he wore beneath. Even Junhui's plain black outfit would have stood out between those people.

As Junhui passed by him, he tapped him on the leg.

"Close your mouth and let's find a place to leave the horses, they attract too much attention." he said.

Minghao nodded once again and followed Junhui. They needed to blend in, and in order to do that, Minghao had to stop looking like a person who had never seen dirt before.

After a while, they found a wooden stool that was used to tie horses outside a small inn. There was two men sitting outside of it, playing some kind of boarding game on tiny table.

Junhui climbed down his horse.

"Excuse me? Could we please leave our horses here for a while?" he asked politely.

The men looked at them up and down. Minghao felt like covering himself from their scrutinizing gazes, but he knew better. He had to appear calm.

"Where are you from, boys? That's not a Korean accent you have there." one of the men, the taller one, with the dusty brown hair said as he got up.

"We come from a land far away from yours." Junhui explained calmly. "We are travelers, making trips around the world." he smiled.

"Oh travelers, you hear that?" the man said to his friend who nodded with a smile. "And how come you visited our small village? With horses like yours, Gisa is only one day away." he kept asking.

"Actually, Gisa was our last destination." Junhui said. "Now we are traveling around, admiring the beauty of your land. That's how we found our way here."

"Ahh our land is not beautiful. Not compared to that town." the man said. "But you can leave your horses here. It's one piece of silver per day. Three, if you want us to take care of them."

Minghao's eyes bulged at that. How could horse care be so cheap?

"Junhui I only have gold." he said in Mandarin.

"I suppose the castle didn't keep change." Junhui sighed. "Well you see,” he switched back in Korean “We are out of silver coins. So how about..." Junhui fumbled in Minghao's bag, took out a golden coin and tossed it to the two men. "That one?" he blinked.

The men gaped.

"Who are you people? How did you get that coin?" they said, shocked.

"Isn't it enough? I'm sorry, we are a little inexperienced in your coin system." Junhui said innocently.

"It's more than enough. Though if you don’t want to be taken as royalty or something you should find yourselves something less valuable." the first man told them, holding the gold coin between his fingers as if he was holding treasure.

Minghao felt his hands clench. How long would it be until knights arrived in the village and began questioning people about the missing prince? A gold coin in the middle of such a poor place was like a big red sign saying 'here he is, arrest him!'. He calmly got off his horse and waited for Junhui to finish talking with the men. When the knight joined him again, Minghao was frowning.

"What the hell was that?" he asked in Mandarin. "Do you want to get caught not even a day after we escaped?"

"What did you want me to do? You're the one that doesn't have anything other than gold in your pockets." Junhui hissed.

"We should have just left Junhui, we can't go around leaving golden coins behind!" Minghao said angrily. "They are definitely going to tell other people and we will be in danger!"

"If only you talked as much as you do now when they were questioning us, we wouldn't be in this situation now would we?" Junhui bit back.

Minghao sighed angrily. The urge to hit Junhui’s head with something pointy was becoming stronger and stronger. So much for blending in.

"Look we don't have time for this.” Junhui continued. “Wonwoo needs us. We should find something, go back, help him, and then ran away before they find us. We couldn't do anything back there , since you only have golden coins. They wouldn't have let us go without paying them. They are poor, not stupid." he stressed.

"Let's just go find something for Wonwoo." Minghao repeated through gritted teeth, and started walking towards a hut with a wooden sign that read "supplies". He didn't know what kind of supplies it had, but hopefully they would find something useful. This time, Minghao was determined to not let Junhui speak at all.

"I'll do the talking this time, okay?" he said to the knight that was walking behind him.

"As you please." Junhui answered him, full of irony.

This wasn't good. Minghao shouldn't let Junhui get to him, they had to keep calm and efficient. Even if his logic said so, Minghao couldn't help the red hot anger that was boiling in his stomach.

The two entered the small shop and barely had the chance to look around before a middle-aged lady strolled over to them.

"Hello? You're new here aren't you? Who are you?" she asked with a smile.

"Hello. We are travelers." Minghao answered sweetly.

"Oh, we don't see those around here anymore. How can I help you my dears?" the lady asked.

"We have a really sick friend ma'am." Minghao said, assuming a worried expression. If there was something Minghao was good at, it was dealing with people. He had spent his entire life charming the subjects of his kingdom. "He fell over his horse and he has bruises all over. Could there be something to help him?" he added.

"Oh my poor thing." the lady said clearly buying Minghao's story. "Let me check. I think I have a special ointment." she answered and trailed towards the back of the shop.

While Minghao was occupied, Junhui started strolling away. It alarmed Minghao, who grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Where are you going?” he asked in Mandarin.

“We’ll need more than ointment to survive out there.” Junhui explained slowly, as if he was talking to a toddler. “You take care of that lady and I’ll do some shopping.”

He yanked his hand free, without waiting for Minghao to agree. The shop had so many things. Fabrics, lanterns, cooking equipment, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to stock up here. If they wanted to last out there, they had to buy some things. Minghao watched as Junhui rolled some fabric out of a shelf. As he moved to pull it on his arms, he bumped on the shelf behind him. A small box fell on the floor, and Minghao snickered. Stupid, clumsy Junhui.

What was surprising though was that the knight took one look inside the box he dropped, and put it on top of the fabrics he was going to buy.

After this, the lady returned shortly.

"It's wild cat fat with the essence of some lavender!" she said to Minghao, holding a small container with a weird goo inside. "It should soothe his skin in a few days!"

Minghao's face must have looked funny after those words, with his mildly alarmed eyes and his forced, polite smile. He wanted to smack himself. He should have known better. Poor villagers like these couldn't afford their own doctor Hong, so they relied on their imagination to treat themselves. He walked towards the counter with the lady, his brain already trying to find something else they could use to help Wonwoo besides this… thing.

But then, Junhui came next to him, and nudged him to get his attention.

"Those will do." he said quietly, showing him the things he carried.

Junhui had gathered lots of things. Pieces of a variety of fabrics were folded on his arms. Four pointy pieces of iron wrapped with a thick rope were clenched between his fingers. On top of the stack, were placed two tin pots together with a ladle and four wooden bowls.

Minghao arched an eyebrow when he also spotted the box again beside a long candle, but he followed Junhui without questions. Maybe the other couldn't talk to people like Minghao, but he probably knew more things than him about helping Wonwoo or surviving in the wild.

"We will take these as well, we have a long journey ahead of us." Minghao told the lady politely, pointing at all the things Junhui was holding.

"Of course dear. I have a son a little younger than you. I would hate it if anything happened to your friend! If you need anything else don't hesitate to come to my house, I live just across the street!" she said, pinching Minghao's cheek.

Junhui obviously bit his tongue to hold in his laughter, but Minghao ignored him. He smiled at the lady again and bowed a little.

"Thank you so much." he said.

"Aw look at you, you're so polite! You really remind me of my son. May the gods bless you!" she cooed "I'll give you those things in a special price. I will only need ten silver coins."

"Let’s see what you’ll do now." Junhui whispered in Mandarin.

Minghao pouted cutely at the lady. "Ahh ma'am you really deserve more than ten silver coins." he said and fished around his bag.

He protruded another gold coin and handed it over. The lady opened her mouth wide, ready to protest but Minghao cut her off.

"You should always be as kind to strangers as you were with me today. Who knows how the gods choose to reward you. Please accept this and don't question them." he smiled knowingly.

Junhui gapped at the scene in front of him almost as much as the lady. She recovered faster though, and bowed at Minghao deeply.

"Thank you my dear. I hope your friend gets better. Have a lovely trip and please be careful." she said with tears in her eyes.

Minghao bowed again and gestured at Junhui to get outside. Once they were outside, Minghao threw him a cheeky smile.

"You've already messed up with those two men. If soldiers come, they will know we were here. The least we could do was get some people on our side." he said.

"Tell me then, oh great Minghao, Prince of Gisa, how would you have dealt with them?" Junhui bit in Mandarin so no one but the prince could understand him.

"That's for me to know and you to wonder." Minghao decided to be annoying as he marched away towards the inn.

Junhui huffed and trailed behind him. They thanked the two men sincerely , they put the things on their horses and left the town as quickly as they could.

"So, I forgot to ask." Minghao said when they left the main road, finally getting a look at the small box Junhui had bought. "What do you need the needles for?"

" _That's for me to know and you to wonder_." Junhui said in a mocking, high-pitched voice.

_Stupid knight,_ Minghao thought glaring at the trees in front of him. There was no way he could live with him for the rest of his life without murdering him. He decided then and there that he was not going to spend any more time alone with him. He would let Mingyu and Wonwoo handle any future duo expeditions.

They finally reached the place where they had left the couple. Mingyu had made something like a mattress out of wood and grass and had put Wonwoo on it. The knight didn't seem so well. Sweat was covering him and he was breathing faster than normal. When they arrived, Junhui immediately climbed down his horse and ran towards them.

"How is he?" he asked.

"I don't know." Mingyu shook his head sadly. "He is not complaining at all, but he doesn't look good.   
Did you find anything?" he asked, his voice worried to the maximum.

"We found the perfect thing don't worry." Junhui smiled and returned back to his horse, taking the things and returning back, leaving Minghao to tie the horses and watch them work.

"Alright Mingyu, do me a favor. Move Wonwoo and the bed under that branch." he said as he fumbled with the supplies.

Mingyu rushed to do as he was told.

"Junhui brought something love, we're going to treat you." he said kissing Wonwoo's forehead

The injured knight smiled shakily in return. Mingyu moved Wonwoo as instructed and Junhui kneeled next to him.

"You really look terrible. General Jihoon would have been proud that you managed to ride that horse for so long." he stated, brushing Wonwoo's hair back.

"I'm a trained soldier." Wonwoo said shakily.

"I know you are." Junhui smiled. "Alright Mingyu, bring the blue cloth from the supplies and the four iron rods."

Mingyu ran back at the things Junhui had left on the grass and took the deep blue fabric on his arms. It must have been thicker and heavier that it looked like, because Minghao saw Mingyu stumble a bit under its weight. He still brought it back to the knight as fast as he could.

"Help me get it around that branch, pup." Junhui guided Mingyu.

Mingyu did as instructed. Minghao started approaching after having taken care of the horses, to see where Junhui was going with this. Together with Mingyu, they passed the fabric around the branch that was directly above Wonwoo. Then Junhui took the two corners of the one side stretching them as far as they could go.

"Mingyu give me the rods." he instructed the other.

Mingyu did. Junhui took a small rock that was next to his feet and started hitting the rods, hammering them to the ground. He did the same on the other side with the remaining rods, creating a tent that was covering Wonwoo, offering shadow and privacy.

Junhui went back to the supplies. This time he took the small box, a candle and a wooden bowl.

"What are you going to do with the needles?" Minghao tried asking again, approaching the tent.

"I'm helping. Can't you see that? Mingyu there is a river a few meters away with cold water. Take my pouch and fill it."

"Junhui tell me." Minghao said firmly. "Stop being self-centered."

Mingyu glanced at his two friends alarmed, but left them to go to the river.

"I'm trying to help Wonwoo, alright? When I'm done with that, I will tell you anything you want. In the meantime if you want to help please grab the flint stone and the steel with you and follow me?" Junhui asked nicely.

_Think of Wonwoo,_ Minghao repeated to himself as he begrudgingly became Junhui's assistant.

Junhui got in the tent, kneeling in front of the makeshift bed as he opened the box. Needless the box had small needles in it, Making Minghao flinch. Junhui took one in his fingers, examining it carefully. He then took the things from Minghao's hands gently and lit up the small candle.

Just then, Mingyu came back with the pouch full of water. Junhui took it after thanking him, and poured some water inside the wooden bowl.

"Mingyu, get out please." Junhui requested.

"Can you stop being so dramatic already? Are you cutting him open or something? What's with the needles?" Minghao asked exasperated.

"Can you please do as I say for once? I don't want to have Mingyu crying above my head for what I'm about to do." Junhui said in Mandarin. "I won't hurt him. It's something I've learned. Stay and I'll explain."

"Then explain already." Minghao scooted closer to get a better look.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't kill him." Mingyu said, slowly backing out of the tent.

"I won't pup, don't worry. Everything is going to be fine." Junhui reassured him.

He started taking the needles out one by one. He passed them through the candle fire and then put them in the wooden bowl. When all the needles were placed inside the water Junhui gave Minghao the bowl.

"Hold it for me please. And I swear I will tell you what's going on. But most importantly, Wonwoo can you hear me?" Junhui asked sweetly.

"Yes I can. All the fighting and everything." the knight said, turning his head to look at them.

"Sorry about that." Junhui smiled sympathetically. "I will have to take your shirt off completely, is that okay?"

"Yeah." Wonwoo nodded.

"Alright." Junhui started peeling the cloth off, careful not to hurt the bruised knight. He then reached his hand out of the tent, giving it to Mingyu.

"Be careful yeah?" Mingyu said clutching the fabric.

Junhui smiled encouragingly and went back inside. "Wonwoo, this might sting a little okay? Relax and remember to breath. Everything is going to be fine."

Wonwoo nodded and took a deep breath.

Junhui took one of the needless in his hand then, while with the other one he touched Wonwoo's stomach pressing his fingers around lightly. When he reached a specific spot, he lined the needle with the knight's stomach and with a quick move, he pierced the needle inside. Minghao hissed, the hair of his arms rising. The sharp thing wasn't deep inside Wonwoo's skin, just enough for it to stand up, but it looked _so_ uncomfortable.

"These..." Junhui mumbled in Mandarin as he continued his ministration. "are acupuncture needles. They are smaller and much thinner than the normal ones. Acupuncture is a traditional healing technic from our country." he explained eyeing Minghao.

"When the edge of the needle pierces through the skin, the brain receives a message that the body is wounded. So more blood gets sent towards the specific area ,making the wound heal faster. In our case, Wonwoo's body is trying to fight the bruise alone. That's why he is running a fever. Acupuncture will help to boost the metabolism, and that way, the bruise will be gone sooner." Junhui spoke quietly, wiping his own sweaty forehead.

"Are there specific spots you are piercing?" Minghao asked, looking at the scene intently.

“Yes. When they teach you acupuncture, you learn that there are specific spots that you must pierce in order for it to work. If you don't memorize them by heart, there's a really high possibility that you might hit a nerve. And you don't want that at any cost." Junhui replied.

"You're not hitting nerves? Does that mean he doesn't feel pain?" Minghao kept asking.

"Well, it's not painless. You feel a small sting as the needle pierces through your skin but then it stops." Junhui answered. "Though you shouldn't move..." he added in Korean.

"Don't move. Got it." Wonwoo said through gritted teeth.

"How long are you going to leave the needle in there?" Minghao asked.

"I think one day will do the trick." Junhui said, placing the last needle on its place.

"There, finished. Now you have to relax Wonwoo. I'll try to find some herbs to make you something for the fever. Get some sleep." he said softly, standing up from besides the knight. "Mingyu you can come in, but please don't freak out." he called towards the opening of the tent.

Mingyu came in. His eyes immediately took in Wonwoo's body. Then he turned around and left again.

"Oh my god Junhui what the hell!" he yelled from outside.

"Oh come on, this is a healing process. It's not that bad." Junhui shouted back at him.

Wonwoo chuckled as well, trying not to move his chest too much. "I don't feel pain, I promise!" he said as loudly as he could in his current state.

"Hush you shouldn't speak." Junhui said.

Mingyu peeked his head inside again.

"This doesn't seem healing." Mingyu pointed at Wonwoo's body.

"I assure you it is." Junhui rolled his eyes, but he still had a smile on his face

Throughout the exchange, Minghao was busy studying the position of the needles on Wonwoo's torso. They seemed random. Would they really do what Junhui said they would? And if they were so effective, why weren't their own people using them? He had so many questions but he didn't feel like talking to the knight anymore that day.

"Do you need any water?" he asked Wonwoo instead.

"Yes please." Wonwoo answered.

"I'm gonna bring you some!" Mingyu piped up, running out and the back in with Wonwoo's pouch. "Here." he said lovingly, helping the knight drink.

"I'll go find herbs." Junhui stood up. "Mingyu do you want to come with me?" he asked, pointedly not looking at the prince.

"I don't know..." Mingyu said thoughtfully.

"I'll be here don't worry." Minghao said sensing his best friend’s dilemma.

Mingyu sighed. "All right. Let's go then. Stay safe please." he whispered, threading his fingers through Wonwoo's hair.

"I'll try my best." the knight smiled.

"We won't go far either way. You can come back anytime you want." Junhui said as he placed an arm on Mingyu’s back, guiding him outside.

Wonwoo watched them go with a sad expression. Minghao knew Mingyu enough to understand the psychological problems he would inevitably face after the prison. Things like those never left people without scars. He was certain that his best friend would show clinginess among other anxieties, this was just how he was. But Minghao didn't know Wonwoo. How was he going to express his invisible trauma?

"How are you feeling?" he decided to go with a direct approach.

"Weird." the knight admitted. "My stomach hurts, but I can manage." he said, his eyes darting left and right, trying to find something to focus on. Now that Mingyu was out, Wonwoo didn't know where to place his gaze and it showed.

"You can close your eyes.” Minghao suggested. “Mingyu is going to be back soon."

Wonwoo did, but it didn’t easy any of his obvious discomfort. His face was tight, his frown not easing at all.

"Hey," Minghao began again, when he saw that Wonwoo wasn’t relaxing, "are you nervous?"

Maybe he could get Wonwoo to talk if he was more specific.

"I just feel uneasy that's all. It'll pass I guess..." Wonwoo sighed, trying to calm himself.

Minghao touched the knight's hand comfortingly, careful not to move him at all. He was cold.

"You're doing good, you know that right? Everyone is impressed you managed to get us so far away from Gisa in your condition." he said with a small smile.

Wonwoo tilled his head to look at him with gratitude.

"Thank you, your highness. It means a lot coming from you." he gave him a smile, albeit with effort.

"It really shouldn't by this point. I'm in no way superior to you now... hyung." he added after a moment of hesitation.

Wonwoo huffed a laugh.

"It sounds a little forced, don't you think? You can call me Wonwoo until you can say it with confidence." the knight said, his voice still polite.

"Great. You can call me Minghao too." the prince said, stifling a yawn behind his hand.

Wonwoo grinned at him knowingly.

"Why don't you take a rest your- I mean Minghao?" Wonwoo asked him.

"I don't want to move you. And I'm not leaving you alone either." Minghao reasoned, placing his head on the palm that wasn’t touching Wonwoo’s hand.

It had been a long, tiring day. Up until then, Minghao had remained alert and active because he had been going through life or death situations. But now, under the warm, morning sun and beneath a cool tent, he felt his exhaustion catching up to him.

"I won't go anywhere though." Wonwoo insisted.

"Tell that to Mingyu if he comes back and finds me away from you." Minghao murmured. "It's okay, I will manage." he said, but yawned again.

"You can lie down here then. Come on, you deserve a break." Wonwoo told him.

Minghao looked at the empty place next to the knight longingly. He really shouldn't, they would be far too close and Wonwoo probably valued his personal space. And what the hell, if Wonwoo had managed to ride a running horse for an entire night while he was sleep deprived, physically _and_ emotionally abused, Minghao could stay awake until the other two came back.

But... What if Wonwoo wanted him to lie down next to him? Would it make it any better for his nerves if he had another person that close? Maybe Minghao could help him sleep, which was something the knight was in immediate need for. With that thought as an excuse, Minghao moved his body with as much caution as he could. He lay down next to Wonwoo, careful not to touch him.

"Is this okay?" he asked softly after wiggling around for a bit.

"I would ask the same thing to you." Wonwoo laughed under his breath. "Are you comfortable? I understand that lying with someone on a small space like that isn't something frequent in your life." he said softly.

Minghao shook his head. "You wouldn't believe the amount of times I've slept with Chan on the same bed when we were younger. Back when it didn't matter that I was a prince and he was going to be my valet." Minghao admitted.

"Wow, I envy you. I haven't slept with anyone on the same bed. Not even as a child." Wonwoo trailed off.

"I believe that being next to someone while you're sleeping greatly reduces stress." Minghao yawned again.

"Mmm maybe you’re right. This does feel less stressful."

"I'm glad." Minghao said and touched the other's hand again. "Can you try to sleep?"

"I'll try if you try." Wonwoo smiled as he closed his eyes.

Minghao giggled, tightening his hand. "You first." he said.

"My eyes are already closed. Your turn." Wonwoo stifled a laugh.

"If your eyes are closed how do you know mine are open?" the prince bit back a laugh as well.

"I can sense it." Wonwoo replied mysteriously.

Minghao laughed at that.

"Okay. Good night." he said running his thumb over Wonwoo's knuckles.

"Good night." Wonwoo squeezed his hand.

The silence that followed lasted for about 2 minutes.

"Wonwoo." Minghao whispered. "It's not night." he said and they both laughed. It was because they were both dead tired, because the reality of their situation had still not really caught up with them and because deep down, they were both too nervous about their future that everything seemed a lot funnier than it actually was. 

"Ouch, ouch I'm not supposed to laugh. Stop it." Wonwoo said but continued laughing anyway.

"Oh my god, don't laugh, I'm so sorry!" Minghao said between fits of laughter. "Stop laughing!"

"I- ouch can't." the knight said. "Stop being so funny."

"I'll stop if you stop." the prince said, looping their conversation, which only managed to spur a new wave of giggles.

Wonwoo took a deep breath and tried to stop himself.

"I should really stop moving or else Junhui will kill me." Wonwoo sighed.

Minghao breathed deeply as well. Wonwoo's health was top priority. They would have all the time in the world to laugh later.

"Okay." he said once they were both calm again. "Let's really try to sleep now okay?"

"Alright." Wonwoo sighed as well. "Rest well." the knight mumbled softly.

Minghao run his thumb over the other's knuckles again. He could definitely imagine a future with Wonwoo in his life, right by Mingyu's side. He fell asleep happily.

Later, when Junhui and Mingyu returned, they found the two of them sleeping peacefully next to each other, Wonwoo on his back and Minghao facing him, hands interlocked and slight smiles on their faces.

"What should we do with them?" Junhui asked the other.

Mingyu had a fond smile on his face. "Let's leave them be. We can boil the herbs so they will be ready when they wake up." he suggested.

~*~

At the same time in the palace, like Soonyoung had predicted, there was an intense turmoil. There was a general order to not speak to the servants about anything that was happening, but news still traveled fast. After the arrest of the first footman and a knight for their illegal relationship, Prince Minghao was nowhere to be found. It didn't take a lot for some of the staff that were closer to the prince and his friends to realize what was happening.

Amidst all of this, the steward they could have turned to for explanations was absent as well, but everyone was informed that he was in an emergency meeting with the king, the general and the prince's valet. That only served to put everyone on edge even more.

"What happened?! Where is my son?!" the king shouted at the two servants and the general that were kneeled in front of him. The meeting was held in the throne room, and no one else was allowed anywhere near that room.

Nobody spoke. Soonyoung and Chan could easily get out of trouble, nobody suspected them of anything. They were present just in case they have noticed anything unusual, as both were people close to prince Minghao.

General Jihoon wasn't as lucky.

"I'm going to repeat this one more time, and then I'm asking individual questions." the king said threateningly. "Where is my son?"

The king was met with silence again.

"Alright then. If this is the way you want it..." he stood up from his throne and walked towards them. "Lee Chan! As you are the prince's private valet, so I'm asking you. When did you last see my son?" he asked.

"L-last night your highness. I prepared him for bed, his usual routine, and then I left." the boy answered

When making the plan, it had been a unanimous decision that no matter what, Chan would have to come out of it innocent.

"And you didn't see him this morning at all?" the king asked again.

"No your highness. I went to bring him his morning tea, like I do every day, but his chambers were empty... I then informed a knight outside about it." he said, reminiscing the events that had happened after he left Soonyoung's room.

"And that's everything? You don't know anything else?" the king said.

"I'm afraid not..." he said sadly, making it look like he was feeling distressed about the loss of the prince as well. "I'm really sorry, had I been more attentive maybe this wouldn't have happened." he bit his lip.

The king hummed, looking like he believed him.

"What about you Soonyoung? Where was the last time you saw my son? Do you know what happened?" the king move to stand in front of the steward.

Soonyoung felt way more conflicted that the younger. If he proved himself innocent, what would happen to Jihoon? The general would suffer a lighter punishment if his only crime was telling Soonyoung about the tunnels, and not assisting the prince on his escape.

Before he spoke though, he felt Jihoon glaring daggers at him from behind the king's back, daring him to say anything to appear guilty. _I'll make sure you stay out of trouble_ , he had said. So Soonyoung decided to trust his old friend one more time.

"I didn't know anything about this sir. I saw him occasionally on the kitchen and on his living room, but he always seemed normal, if a little sad. None of my other servants have noticed any change in him either, except maybe from Mingyu I guess. I now know I shouldn't have trusted him. I acknowledge my mistake in making him first footman." he said, his eyes glued to the floor.

"I hope you learn to read people more carefully from now on Soonyoung. Because that man did not only cost me one of my loyal knights, but also one that was transferred from Zhanshi. We can’t afford to make our relationship with that country even more unstable than it already is. Most importantly though,” the king looked about ready to explode, “he took away my son!” he yelled once again.

The others could do nothing but remain silent.

The king paced back and forth for a few moments, calming himself down. He then took a deep breath and went to sit back on his throne.

“And that bring us to our next question. But before that, Guards!" he called and immediately two knights emerged through the door. "Take the servants away! I will have a private talk with the general." the king ordered.

Soonyoung's eyes immediately shot up to meet Jihoon's. He seemed peaceful, steeling himself for whatever punishment was to befall him. His eyes were calm and accepting. He looked at Soonyoung's own desperate eyes with a melancholic resignation.

_Is this that last expression I will even see on his face?_ Soonyoung couldn’t help but think.

As Soonyoung and Chan were escorted outside, without offering any resistance, the valet softly grabbed his hyung's sleeve.

"It's going to be okay." he murmured.

But the steward didn't answer. Only a single tear escaped his eye as he glanced behind him, taking one last look of his secret lover before the doors closed, trapping Jihoon inside and him outside.

~*~

"General Jihoon. I know you are an honest man, so I will take no excuses. I have been informed my son broke those two vile people out of the prison beneath your building and then escaped from the stables. We both know there is only one way for them to do so completely unnoticed." the king said, looking as imposing as a father who just lost his child would.

"Yes your majesty." Jihoon said quietly but also firmly.

"Explain yourself then. Did you help my son break out two prisoners and escape?" the king asked.

"I would never your majesty. When I went that night to check up on them, I found my guards knocked out and the two prisoners nowhere to be found. The truth is…” Jihoon prepared himself to explain the only lie that could possibly lessen his punishment. “The truth is that Jeon was my most trusted knight. I made the mistake of telling him about the secret tunnels at one meeting.” he lowered his head in shame. “When I found out that they used those passages I ran towards the stables, but I was too late. I got there after they were gone." Jihoon explained with an earnest tone, trying to mask the lie.

"General, I really want to believe that, as it would mean that I won't have to take your head off tonight. But are you really telling the truth?" the king pressured. "Did you really casually betray some of the castle's secrets to one mere knight? It doesn't sound like you."

"Jeon Wonwoo wasn't a mere knight your majesty. Jeon was my right hand, my personal guard. I myself was training him. He was everything I was looking for. Smart, calm, quick on his feet and his mind. And I was ready to choose him as my successor before it was proven he did all those… vile things." Jihoon made a bitter face.

"You were? One of your knights has reported your favoritism towards him before, but I never took him seriously. You've never mentioned that Jeon to me before." the king observed.

"He had been under testing until that night. Believe me, I was as horrified as you are now to learn about him, your majesty. And I'm terribly sorry for what my rushed decisions have caused." Jihoon lowered his body to the ground.

The apology was only half a lie. He regretted a lot of the decisions he had made before he gave himself the chance to think them through. The most prominent one had been just escorted out of the throne room.

"It seems strange that both you and Soonyoung placed your hopes in people that ultimately betrayed you. I believe Soonyoung, because I've known Kim Mingyu ever since he was young, and he _did_ seem incapable of something like this. I also know my son was close to him, and sometimes attachment to people make us do crazy things. But I don't know that Jeon, or that other knight. I only have your word to take for your innocence." the king said, crossing his hands on his lap. "And even if you do tell the truth, you still proved to be an incompetent general. Your positions does not only require to defend a country, but also judge the characters of those that serve you accurately. At that, you failed miserably. An untrustworthy knight is worse than an untrustworthy servant." he continued.

Jihoon nodded in understanding. That speech hurt, he couldn’t deny it. Him? Failing miserably? Those two words had never been in Jihoon's vocabulary in that sequence. But there was nothing he could instead of accepting them. He _did_ betray his country's rules, in more ways than he was currently being accused of. So the only thing he could do was lower his head and take it all.

This was for Soonyoung, he kept repeating to himself. For Soonyoung, and everything their feelings hadn’t managed to stand for.

"I apologize your majesty." he repeated.

"The apology is not accepted." the king said. "I won't execute you, and that's because you've proven yourself through all those fights you led so our kingdom could be safe. However, this is the loss of a prince we are talking about, the _only_ prince Gisa had. I can't let you go unpunished for it. So General Jihoon, you are banished from Gisa. You can't come back until you find my son and bring him home. Alive." the king said firmly.

The general's eyes widened, but his head was still bowed, so the king couldn't see his expression. He knew he should say something, accept the king's words, but he was speechless. He had thought multiple scenarios in his head for his inevitable punishment, but that hadn't been one of them.

"Your majesty. Thank you for your mercy. I will try my best." he finally said, willing his voice not to shake.

"I hope you do it fast." the king said. "I want you out of the palace by the end of the day. Order the knights to start searching for them as well. Tell them to go only 20 kilometers away from the palace. From there on, you’re alone. Gisa is in need of its soldiers in these difficult times." the king finished and dismissed the general.

With a last bow, Jihoon exited the throne room. His first instinct was to go find Soonyoung. Tell him what happened, finally explain his part of the story, his feelings. Perhaps he wouldn’t have another chance after this day. The most selfish part of himself wanted to ask the steward to come with him. But Jihoon knew his life wasn't a fairy tale, and he loved Soonyoung too much to ask him to ruin his life for him. Especially knowing that Soonyoung might actually do it.

The truth was that Jihoon was leaving Gisa and he was unlikely to come back. He might have over-exaggerated Wonwoo's skills for the sake of his life, but he knew it would be difficult to catch those four alone. And even if he did, the only thing he could do was convince the prince to return. The other three were lost causes. It would be pointless for him to have helped them escaped only to bring them back to their deaths.

Still, if that was his only chance to return to his beloved Gisa and to Soonyoung, he would try.

Jihoon did as the king told him to. He ordered his knights to search for the four missing men within a 20 kilometer radius. Then he started packing up his things. He had a long journey ahead of him.

He contemplated saying goodbye to the few people he called friends. Seokjin, mostly. He had stood by his side through all his painful years. And... Soonyoung. They weren't exactly on speaking terms, but after last night, Jihoon felt like it had only been yesterday since they were together, careless and in love.

In the end, he decided against bidding farewell to anyone. He didn't need to carry any more regretful feeling to his exile. Everyone knew what they needed to know about him, he had nothing else to say.

He exited his office and made his way to the stables, carrying his entire life on his back.

"General? Where are you going?" Hoseok asked the moment he saw him. "And what's happening with prince Minghao? Nobody is telling us anything."

"You will learn soon Hoseok-ssi, don't worry yourself so much." the general gave a tight smile at the groom master.

Jihoon prepared his horse quietly. In the quietness of the stables, everything came crushing down on him. His memories in the castle all those years. All the things he did with Seungkwan and Seokmin. All the meals he ate from Seokjin. Prince Minghao's birthdays and all the events that the ballroom hosted. Samuel's engagement. Soonyoung.

Jihoon sighed deeply.

"General? I have a bad feeling about this." Hoseok approached him with caution.

Jihoon climbed up his horse.

"It was nice meeting you Hoseok-ssi.” the general said simply. He hit the reins and ran out of the castle.

He run across the Road of the Knights one last time, this time not praying to come back alive, but for everything to keep being peaceful in his absence. At the town's gate he stopped. The knights that were on guard there bowed at him confused.

"General?" they asked.

"Make sure you keep this gate safe as long as I am gone. Tell it to the others too. No knight of mine is allowed to slack off!" was his final order as Gisa's general.

Feeling like he was leaving a part of his soul behind, he rode past the guards and into the plains that were surrounding Gisa, the morning sun beating down on him.

~*~

It was later that evening when Minghao woke up. He had slept way more hours than he initially intended to. Why hadn't Mingyu and Junhui woken him up after they returned in the morning? Where were they?

He stretched his back and he realised his hand was still locked together with Wonwoo's. The other was still asleep, thankfully. Minghao tried to free his hand, as gently as possible. He managed to do so without waking Wonwoo up. He hastily got up, still careful not to touch him, and he exited their tent with wobbly legs.

"Well, well. Good morning sunshine.” Mingyu teased him when he saw him. “How are you?"

He and Junhui had started a fire and they were sitting around it. A pot that was supported by two rocks was at the corner of the fire, keeping whatever was inside it warm.

Minghao plopped right next to Mingyu, hugging his arm.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I thought something might have happened." he said, his voice groggy.

"We saw you sleeping and we figured you were tired from the trip. There was no reason to wake you." Mingyu explained.

"Aren't you tired too, though? Did you get to sleep at all?" Minghao asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Oh yes, I slept a little. Don't worry about me." Mingyu smiled happily.

Minghao glanced at Junhui. _Did you sleep?_ was in the tip of his tongue, but he decided to let it stay there.

"How did it go with the herbs? Were you... feeling alright?" he asked, remembering Wonwoo's anxious face before he decided to lie next to him

"I managed just fine, but it was mostly because of Junhui hyung. He taught me some new things about the herbs we found and he told me a couple of stories so the time passed before I could notice." Mingyu replied, watching Junhui stir the fire.

"Mmm he sure seems to know more about medicine than we thought." Minghao hummed. "I'm proud of you Mingyu. In case you didn't know it already, both you and Wonwoo did great today." he added, remembering how the positive words had made Wonwoo feel better.

And Minghao was right. Mingyu's face brightened at his friend's words, a genuine smile decorating his pretty face.

"Thank you Minghao. For everything you did." the footman said hugging the prince tightly. “There are really not enough words in my vocabulary to express my gratitude.”

Minghao snuggled closer, burying his head on his friend's shoulder. He had missed Mingyu's hugs. They felt so warm, full of love. He could fall asleep again easily if he stayed pressed against him for long.

“Don’t thank me yet.” he sighed. “We still have a long way to go.

"That’s true.” Mingyu pursed his lips. “I should go check on Wonwoo. I've left him alone long enough." he said and got up, much to Minghao's dismay

"Okay, go." Minghao smiled at him anyway. He had accepted a while ago that he was sharing Mingyu with another person now.

"Ask him if he wants some tea. It's almost ready." Junhui piped up.

Mingyu nodded and entered Wonwoo's tent.

Once he was gone, Minghao couldn't ignore Junhui's presence anymore. The knight was sitting quietly opposite of him, his legs drawn to his chest. His eyes were drooping, but he showed no sign of falling asleep anytime soon.

Minghao looked at him thoughtfully. Now that he wasn't tired, he could see how he had overreacted a bit in the morning. He couldn't understand how Junhui could get on his nerves so much sometimes.

"You know," he began, "it will be troublesome if the only time we manage to get along is when our friends are in immediate threat of death." he said.

"It would be easier if you acknowledged my actions from time to time." Junhui said, his eyes gazing the fire in front of him. "You knew that we didn't have any other choice in the town." he continued.

"It would have been better to just get our horses and leave." Minghao said calmly. "We should talk before we do something, there is no room for reckless decisions. Like the whole acupuncture thing. Let me know what you're doing, sometimes I may be able to help."

"Minghao please be reasonable. We couldn't have left without paying, it wouldn’t be right. They would have followed us until we gave them their money. People like them aren't generous when it comes to their payment. They _need_ the money, so they wouldn’t have let us go like that." Junhui explained desperately.

"Of course we could have left. There are a million excuses you can pull off to get away from situations like these, trust me I know. We hadn't left our horses with them yet, we didn't owe them anything." Minghao frowned.

Junhui looked at him with disbelief. Two different points of views, unable to be bridged. Minghao knew that Junhui was looking at the situation from a poor villager’s point of view, while he did so from a ruler’s.

The lack of communication was annoying, and Minghao felt his nerves slowly returning. Judging from Junhui’s face, it was probably the same for him. Minghao started preparing himself for a fight, but then, Junhui deflated.

"You know what... forget it." Junhui said calmly. "You never listen anyway." he huffed and stood up, walking away from the camp.

Maybe he needed more time to cool off. Maybe it was because he was tired that he still was not willing to talk. Whatever the case, Minghao wasn't one to let things go like that. He had decided to start this conversation and he wanted to finish it.

"Wait, where are you going? We're talking." he followed Junhui between the trees.

"I need some space... please Minghao go back." Junhui said without looking at the prince, as he walked further into the woods.

"No wait!" Minghao sped up and grabbed his hand. "I don't want to fight. I'm listening to you, I'm trying. I know you're tired but... Let's just solve this." he said.

"How can we possibly solve this Minghao?" Junhui sighed tiredly. "You don't trust me and I know it. Also I can understand that you don't like me and you just 'put up' with me for Mingyu and Wonwoo." he continued, taking his hand back from Minghao’s grasp. "If you are so positive you could have handled the situation better, the next time that we will be in a town I will let _you_ handle it. Alright?" he said and continued his way.

Minghao watched him leave, his irritation giving way to disappointment. That should have sufficed. Junhui agreed to let him take care of their actions when they were into towns, and that was all Minghao wanted right? There shouldn't be any more mess ups if he was in charge, and they would be kept safe.

He still wasn't satisfied though. He needed to learn how to talk to Junhui, he had to trust him. It might have been true that the only reason he put up with him because of the other two, but that was only when they were back in the castle. This couldn’t be the case anymore. They wouldn't make it far if they fought all the time.

Junhui had said that Minghao wasn't listening to him. He had also said that he needed space. By following him and forcing him to talk now, Minghao would only prove his point of not listening. With a deep sigh, Minghao decided to follow anyway.

He passed through the woods, trying to spot Junhui. The other had trailed pretty far inside the forest in his rush to get away. Minghao looked around him anxiously. What if he got lost inside those trees? Then he wouldn't be able to find neither Junhui nor his way back to the camp.

He continued to walk until he found himself in front of a river. Minghao gasped at the sight in front of him. The banks were full of flowers with beautiful, vibrant colors and different shapes. The river's water was so clear that the prince could see right through it. Fish of different sizes were swimming happily inside it, without a care in the world. This was a river plucked straight of a fairy tale. Minghao couldn’t believe he was seeing one with his own eyes.

His gaze trailed upwards. There was a bunch of big, mossy rocks that cut the river’s flow, making it twist and turn around them smoothly. On top of one of those rocks there was sitting a familiar figure. Junhui. The knight was staring at the water, a frown decorating his sharp characteristics. He had drawn his legs towards his chest once again, as he played with the old familiar red ribbon of his sword.

_How did he climb up there?_ was Minghao's initial thought, until he remembered how easily Junhui always seemed to climb the steep wall of their castle. Well, after some practice, Minghao had also managed to climb that wall, so he decided he was going to go next him.

Minghao walked towards the knight. When he reached the rocks we gulped. The surface looked too slippery for Minghao's liking but he was determined to go and sit beside the knight.

There was no rope this time either. As he began climbing up, he felt the uncertainty of his actions catching up to him. He still didn't back down though. Even if Junhui saw him approaching, he didn't make any move to help him. Minghao preferred it that way, it was his decision to follow him and he had to do it alone.

His arms trembled as he reached the top, but the satisfaction of his achievement overshadowed it. With a proud smile on his face, he walked over to Junhui and wordlessly plopped down next to him.

Junhui looked at him with the corner of his eyes but he didn't say anything at first. A long silence stretched between them, but no one wanted to break it. They were just sitting there gazing at the water under their feet. That was until Junhui decided to bring them back to reality.

"You are so stubborn. Has anyone ever told you that?" he said, but it was without heat.

"Of course I am. Someone has to make sure things go smoothly." Minghao smiled a bit.

Junhui arched an eyebrow. "I won't ever understand you my prince." he sighed. He took a small piece of the rock and threw it in the water, scaring a frog away.

"You have to try though. We can't keep fighting like this. We need to learn to function together." Minghao replied, observing how the frog leapt from rock to rock with ease.

"I hate to break it to you, but you also need to try getting along with me." Junhui said calmly. "I can't do all the job."

"I know. You keep telling me that I don't listen, that I don't understand. At least _I know it._ You refuse to even acknowledge that you're not trying to listen to me." Minghao clenched his fist, but quickly calmed himself again.

He really didn't want this conversation to go like the others had.

"If I didn't listen to you, I wouldn't have let you do all those things, like talking to the guards the night you weren’t able to climb the wall, or getting that old lady to worship us or whatever. Heck, we wouldn't have even made up the plan to break Mingyu and Wonwoo out of Gisa." Junhui huffed. "I know I can be a difficult person to handle sometimes, but the one thing I always do is try." he continued.

Minghao felt bad at his words. He was trying as well, but instead of feeling proud about it, Junhui just sounded really tired and sad. For a moment, Minghao found his desire to comfort him greater than his need to solve their issues.

"...you're doing a great job too." he said, looking at the ground. "I told the others before... Maybe you need to hear it as well."

Junhui turned his face so quickly towards the prince, that he almost broke his neck. His eyes were wide and surprise was written all over his face.

"What?" he said shocked.

"Don't make me repeat it." Minghao scrunched his nose. "I understand you're trying. The problem is, it seems we need to try in a different way because clearly, our normal attempts at communication are not working with each other."

"Maybe you're right." Junhui exhaled. The little frog on the river paused his frantic jumping, no longer scared of the rock that had threatened it. "Alright. What do you want from me? What can I do so you can trust me?” Junhui asked.

"Try to open up a bit more. Tell me what you're doing, what you're thinking, since I clearly can't guess. And stop belittling me because I am a prince, even if it's just jokes. It's aggravating. You're mocking something I've been insecure about my entire life." Minghao felt the words pour out of him, like he had opened a highly pressured bottle. He immediately felt the embarrassment creeping closer. He always shared too much with Junhui, so he tried to divert attention from his words before he even had the chance to reply. "What do you want _me_ to do?"

Junhui's face melted to a sweeter expression than before. "I just want you to trust me when it comes to the outside world. You are better at talking, but I know how to act." he said softly.

Minghao closed his eyes. Junhui was basically saying to let go of the control he had over dangerous situations. It wasn't only Junhui that the prince didn't trust with important decisions, it was everyone. He was going to be the king one day, so he always acted like he was in charge, preparing himself for when the time came. It had become a second nature to him to be a leader, and it made him insecure to think that someone else was responsible for his fate.

He was no longer going to be king though. Minghao didn't control anyone anymore. He needed to remember that they were all equals. And Junhui here was asking him to share some of his control with him. It wasn't unreasonable.

"Okay, but we have to find a balance." he said, opening his eyes again. "If I think you will be better than me at something, I won't hesitate to let you handle it, but if you feel like I might be more fitting to act in a situation, don't hold me back out of pride."

Junhui didn’t take long at all to accept this. "Alright then. We have a deal." he smiled, his shoulders slumping in relief.

"Thank god." Minghao sighed and fell backwards, lying down on the rock.

The sky was getting dark, he noticed. They should return to the other two soon.

"Minghao..." Junhui said quietly. "About the belittling thing... I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to make you feel bad about your status as a prince. And for the record... I believe you would have made an exceptional king." he muttered, not quite looking at him.

"It doesn't matter now either way." Minghao pursed his lips.

He couldn't bring himself to accept kind words right now. The shifting of power inside him was taking its toll on him.

"You know, if we had stayed at Gisa and I had ended up becoming king, you would have to make a vow to me." he said after a while. "All the knights do it after the coronation of a new king. They swear they are going to protect the new king's kingdom, to be loyal and honorable."

Junhui made a humming noise. "I would like to give you that vow." he said casually, as if it was not a big deal.

Minghao smiled at the thought.

"I'm no longer a crowned prince. You'd be vowing to just a man you respect. I'd have to be of extremely high value for you to do such a thing." he said, knowing that there was no way he was ever going to become a person like that to Junhui.

"I have already sworn to myself to protect Mingyu and Wonwoo. One more person is no big deal." Junhui told him.

"No way.” Minghao shook his head. “I'm not letting you. You can promise everything you want to Mingyu and Wonwoo, but we are equals in this. Isn't this what you wanted?"

"I wanted you to listen to me. I'm still a knight, you know." Junhui frowned.

This was ridiculous.

"Are we going to fight about _not_ fighting?" Minghao said, unable to not smile at the situation.

"Bring it on." Junhui smirked, clenching his fists playfully.

"No. I'm not Mingyu. I won't humor you." Minghao stuck his tongue out and rolled over, so he could turn his back on the knight

"Huh, you’re not fun at all." Junhui huffed, reassuming his previous position.

"You're already tired enough, you don't need to go around fighting people." Minghao said, biting his lip now that his face was out of the other’s sight. "I know you haven't slept all day."

"As Wonwoo said before, I'm a trained warrior. I've learned to stay awake longer than that." the knight muttered.

"Don't you lose your effectiveness as time passes though?" Minghao asked and before Junhui could reply, he rolled and grabbed the knight's sword out of his hands.

He stood up and pointed towards a heavily gapping knight. "You would have never let me do that if you were well rested." he smirked, proving his point as a small breeze of air ruffled their hair.

The knight didn't seem fazed at all. He calmly stood up and with a quick move, he tackled Minghao. The prince lost his balance, but before he could fall on the rocky surface behind him, the knight caught him from the waist and took back his sword.

"What did you say?" Junhui smirked in Minghao's face.

"Yeah, that was expected. I still managed to get your sword, this doesn't prove anything." he shrugged.

"But I took it back so..." Junhui winked.

Minghao squirmed at Junhui's hold. He had been ready to sit back down, having proven his point, but Junhui was being annoying. He was not going down easily. He put one leg behind him, closer to the water, but further away from Junhui, shifting their position.

"Minghao stop moving I-" Junhui tried to say, but it's was too late. They both lost their balance and fell backwards. The twisting river was there to catch them, and if they were not careful, take them away with its force.

Minghao panicked for a moment. He never learned how to swim.

"Junhui!" he yelled, but when he began struggling, he realized his feet could touch the bottom of the river if he stretched them.

"Are you okay?" Junhui called back as he swam towards him.

When he got close, Minghao swung his arm as hardly as he could, splashing water on the knight's face.

"That's for your weak grip! I don't know if you've noticed, but we don't have any clothes to change into, idiot!" he yelled.

"You are the one that squirmed away from me!" Junhui yelled back.

Minghao splashed him again. The cold, crystalline water had looked much better when he wasn’t inside it.

"No excuses! It's your fault!" he said but he felt his foot slipping from the rock he had managed to find stability in on.

He squeaked, Junhui caught him by the hand and steadied him.

"Come on. Let's get back before its completely dark out here." he said, moving them towards the river's bank.

Minghao climbed our first, with Junhui helping him from behind.

Once they were both out, Minghao wrapped his arms around himself. As if the spring water hadn’t been cold enough on its own, now he had the chilly wind that blew against his wet clothes.

Minghao shuddered. "I hate you so much." he mumbled to Junhui.

"Like I don't know that already..." Junhui rolled his eyes at the prince. "Let's go back. I have a surprise for you." he grinned.

"What surprise?" Minghao asked, following Junhui down a small path.

"You'll see.” the knight said mysteriously.

"Come on. We literally just talked about telling me things. I hate surprises." Minghao whined.

"Not even if I say that you will like it?" Junhui smirked.

Minghao pouted. "You're always making everything so dramatic." he muttered.

"It's my nature Minghao. I was born dramatic." the knight laughed.

Minghao rolled his eyes, but took a step closer to him. He had no idea where they were going. If he was alone, he would have gotten lost. But Junhui seemed to know the way back to their small camp, because soon enough they found themselves in their clearing. Minghao's whole body was shivering, his clothes beginning to dry on his cold skin.

"Sit by the fire," Junhui directed him towards the small pit they had made.

Minghao did, throwing Junhui an uncertain look. It was a small show of trust.

The fire was warm and Minghao sighed when the heat hit his cold body. He stretched his palms as close to the fire as he could in an attempt to stop their shivering. Suddenly, he felt a fluffy cloth being placed around his shoulders.

Junhui sat beside him with an almost identical one on his back, carrying two wooden cups. He took the kettle from near the fire and purred some hot tea inside the two cups, offering one of them to the prince.

"What's that? When did we get blankets?" Minghao asked, taking the cup gratefully.

"I took them from the supply shop. I still wonder why the old lady wanted to take only ten silver pieces." Junhui smiled.

"Why didn't I see them?" Minghao asked, clutching the blanket closer to his body.

"Maybe because you were angry with me?" the knight said innocently.

Minghao turned his head away, feeling a little guilty now. "Whatever. Is this tea from the herbs you picked with Mingyu? What is it?" Minghao asked, bringing the cup to his nose and sniffing.

"A mix of lavender, chamomile and carnation leaves." Junhui answered taking a gulp of the drink.

Minghao remembered reading how those herbs grew in mountains, near places with water. He sipped his tea thoughtfully.

"I wish we had some honey." he said. "But it's nice."

"I'm afraid I don't have that." Junhui gave him a sympathetic smile.

"It's fine. This is more than enough." Minghao nodded.

It was not a nice feeling having wet clothes drying on you when it was dark outside, but everything else felt warm.

"Hey! You're back!" Mingyu poked his head out of the tent and looked at them.

"Yes we are. You want some tea?" Junhui asked, shaking his cup for Mingyu to see.

"No, I've drunk enough. You guys were gone for a while." Mingyu said, scratching his head. Minghao noticed his lips were puffed and his hair was messier than when he had left him with Junhui. "Is everything alright between you two?" Mingyu asked seriously.

"We are fine don't worry." Junhui chirped.

Mingyu eyed his best friend carefully.

"Minghao?" Mingyu asked.

"Fine." the prince repeated, his eyes locked on the fire. "You had a good time Mingyu?" he asked with a faint smile.

Mingyu blushed. "I had..." he mumbled, shoulders slouching a bit.

Junhui tsked. "I told Wonwoo not to move! Mingyu!" Junhui exclaimed.

"He didn't! We uhh... Yeah. He didn't." Mingyu said, his blush harder than ever.

"Junhui I promise, your needles are all in place!" they heard Wonwoo shout from inside the tent.

Junhui facepalmed. "I believe you're feeling better then Wonwoo?" he shouted back.

"Definitely!" Wonwoo yelled, his voice more energized than ever.

"I'm going to check on him." Minghao said, getting up.

"Not with these wet clothes you're not." Junhui grabbed his elbow and pulled him back down on top of his blanket. "I'll go. There's a chance that some needles might need moving." Junhui said and stood up.

Before he could leave, Minghao pulled the edge of his shirt. "Your clothes are wet too." he pointed out.

Junhui rolled his eyes but smiled anyway.

"I'll take a look and I'll be right back." he said, gently removing Minghao's hand from his shirt. Minghao opened his mouth to protest, but he closed it again. Junhui should check the needles. It wasn't Minghao's job to stop him. He turned towards the fire again, covering his back with his blanket.

Junhui walked towards the tent. He patted Mingyu on the back shooing him away from its entrance and walked in.

As promised, he didn’t take long to return. On his way back to the fire, he tapped Mingyu’s shoulder. "Your presence is required in the tent." he said formally, and Mingyu almost tripped in his haste to get up.

Minghao chuckled, burying his face in his blanket.

"Are you still cold?" Junhui asked when he approached him, taking his previous place at his side.

"I haven't eaten anything all day. I guess my body's weak." Minghao grumbled.

"You're right. We didn't eat anything. I'll bring some bread and cheese from my bag." Junhui stood up again and went towards their supplies.

After a minute, he came back with half a loaf of bread and some cheese. 

"Good thing we passed through the kitchen before we left. Chan had a really nice idea." Junhui said, plopping down again.

Minghao reluctantly unburied one hand from his blanket cocoon, grabbing a piece of bread and stuffing his mouth with it. The hand returned inside as he chewed.

Minghao didn't really have the best relationship with food. He often skipped meals, but he always made a point to eat healthily, consuming as many fruits and vegetables as he could. That would be another thing he would miss now. Food was now precious, he didn't have the option to be picky. He ate to survive, not to taste.

He extended his hand again, grabbing a piece of cheese this time.

"Everything okay?" Junhui asked him as he chewed his own portion.

Minghao nodded.

"Now that you ate, you should drink some water and go to sleep." he told Junhui seriously. “Exhaustion is not good for the body.

"If you say so," Junhui smiled and drank a bit of water from his pouch. Then, he scooted a little closer to the fire and lain down on the soft grass. He made no other move to get comfortable, proof of just how tired he was.

Minghao crawled over him and took his forgotten blanket in his arms. He threw it over the knight, tucking him in. It wasn’t much, but it was all he could do.

"I'll stay awake to guard tonight." he announced.

"No you're not." Junhui said sleepily, trying grab his arm and drag him down next to him. "Lie down... You should sleep too."

"I've been sleeping the entire day, thanks to some people that didn't wake me up.” he said, sitting upright again. "You sleep, I'm watching over you." And when Junhui looked like he was going to argue again, he added, "I can guard tonight, so let me. We talked about this."

Junhui closed his mouth and sighed.

"Alright then, if it makes you feel better. But please, if something happens, anything, wake me up okay?" he said, more serious this time.

"Rest assured." Minghao smiled satisfied. It had worked. They didn’t argue, even though they disagreed. Minghao was so happy to finally see the results from all his efforts paying off, that he instinctively reached to brush Junhui’s hair back comfortingly.

He realized what he was about to do mid-movement and he dropped his hand, hoping the knight didn't see anything.

"Goodnight then." Junhui gave him a cute smile.

A few hours later, it hit Minghao that it was too late in the night to leave the fire burning. If anyone was after them, their spot would be found in seconds by the bright light. _Stupid, stupid, why didn't I think of this earlier,_ he cursed as he began throwing soil at the fire pit. They had so much to learn if they wanted to survive in the wild. When the fire was finally put out with no trail of smoke, Minghao returned to his post. Hopefully, nobody had noticed neither the fire, nor the smoke in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for today people!!!
> 
> There are many things going on in this chapter... so we are looking forward to your opinion about them in the comments below!! 
> 
> I hope you have a wonderful start of the new year and I'll see you guys next Saturday!!!
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy!
> 
> -SkWh


	15. We need to talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!!!!!!!!
> 
> It's Saturday once again, and so I'm back with the new chapter!!!
> 
> Before we proceed though I have to say one thing; There's going to be a MILD SMUT at the end of the chapter!!!!!  
> Just in case you don't want to read it (again I'm sorry about the previous smut in Soonhoon's chapter!)
> 
> So, without further ado....
> 
> Enjoy~~~~

The soft rays of the sun wake Junhui up. It was a warm morning in the woods. Birds were chirping and crickets were singing. The knight stretched himself languidly and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Minghao and Mingyu walking around gathering their things quietly. He smiled and stood up slowly, putting his sword back to his belt.

"Good morning. How are you?" Junhui asked as he walked towards the two.

"Good, you're up." Minghao said as soon as he laid his eyes on him, his voice a little anxious "Go take the needles out of Wonwoo, we're leaving."

Junhui stifled a sigh. "On my way." he said, understanding Minghao's anxiety.

They were still vulnerable, not quite out of reach yet, so they had to move away again. The knight walked inside the tent, smiling down on his friend.

"Morning sunshine. Feeling better?” he asked sweetly, peering down to observe the wound.

"Of course.” Wonwoo said, smiling back. His fingers were tapping on the ground, clearly eager to move again. “I had a great doctor after all."

"You flatter me." Junhui laughed. "The wound is a lot better. I'll take the needless out, but you shouldn't force yourself for a couple of days." he announced as he took the box in his hands and started removing the sharp objects.

Wonwoo's side still looked awful, but at least he shouldn't feel as much pain anymore. Once every needle was out, Wonwoo immediately started to sit up.

"I feel like I'm cramping everywhere." he complained, trying to stretch without pressuring his sides

"You didn't move for one whole day Won it's logical." Junhui said and helped his friend get up from the bed.

Then Minghao popped his head inside the tent. "Hurry up." he said urgently. "We aren’t safe yet. Someone's may be on our trail. We have to leave that tent here we don't have time."

Junhui shuffled outside, carrying Wonwoo safely towards a tree trunk so he could lean on. He then returned to the tent and with a swift motion he dragged the fabric down from the branch.

"There, all finished. Let's pack it up and leave." he stated, folding the cloth. He quickly dug out the four rods as well, placing them inside his bag.

"Okay, that was fast." Minghao rolled his eyes, moving to tie the bags on the saddles.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves echoed thought the woods, followed by the angry neighing of horses, and the yells of men. Junhui turned to look at Minghao with wide eyes.

"Did you know about that?" he asked, eyes wide with shock.

"No, but we left that damn fire exposed last night. I was afraid something like this might happen." Minghao exclaimed as he grabbed Wonwoo's arm, ushering him to his horse.

“Guys run!" Junhui shouted at their company. With quick moves the four of them grabbed whatever was left and loaded them on their horses. Mingyu helped Wonwoo climbed up while Junhui and Minghao untied the reins.

Junhui was first to climb up along with the couple.

"Minghao come on!" Junhui yelled.

"I can't! the reins are too tight!" Minghao shouted back.

"We found them!" a loud gruff voice screamed, and three knights appeared from inside the trees.

"Mingyu, Wonwoo go!" Junhui yelled to the other two, sliding his sword out of its seath.

"But-" Mingyu begun, Wonwoo though was quicker coming up from behind him and slapping his horse's hip, making it take off.

"Go!" he shouted, and with a yelp Mingyu disappeared from the clearing.

Wonwoo drew his sword and ran towards the other two. Meanwhile Junhui had already gotten down from his own horse, stumbling his way to where Minghao was struggling. With a swift motion from his sword he cut the reigns free. Minghao's horse neighed in distress, but the prince quickly calmed it down.

"There they are!" the gruff voice sounded again. They had located them.

"Minghao come on!" Junhui urged, helping him up. The prince climbed the stressed horse successfully. "Go find Mingyu." he told him and patted the horse leg to make it move.

"Don't get caught." Minghao warned, glaring at him as he started to run further in the woods.

"I would never." Junhui smirked.

"Junhui!" Wonwoo yelled as he strode besides him, bringing the Chinese’s mare along. Junhui hopped on in no time, hitting the reins hard. The two knights ran away as quickly as they could, ridding towards the opposite direction that Minghao and Mingyu had.

"Follow them!" the leader shouted from behind them.

"Why did you stay behind!? You're the one who they want to catch not me!" Junhui yelled at Wonwoo as they were dashing inside the woods.

"Like hell I'd leave you!" Wonwoo yelled back, dodging a too low branch.

Junhui cursed under his breath. _Danm Wonwoo and his stubbornness_.

They kept running away, jumping above tree roots and passing through thick bushes.

"Do you have _any_ idea where we're going?" Junhui asked, his hands tightening around the leather reins.

"I think I do. I’ve been here before, during outdoor exercises. I have a general idea about the layout of the place.” Wonwoo answered back.

Suddenly an arrow flew between them, it’s piercing tip digging on a fallen trunk, barely missing them.

“Oh great! They have archers with them.” Junhui groaned loudly.

“There is a stream north from here. Let's cross it. There will be a valley full of scattered rocks after that, it will be harder to follow us." Wonwoo suggested as the second arrow pierced the air.

"Let's go then!" Junhui yelled and hit the stirrups so he could speed up.

The two knights crossed the forest, passing beneath branches and zic-zacing through more trees. A couple of minutes later, they finally found themselves in front the stream. The waters weren't deep, but their flow was strong, its currents forcefully twirling between the banks.

"You go first." Junhui pushed Wonwoo away.

Wonwoo nodded, clenching the reigns tighter as his horse walked in the water. A minute after, he reached the other side, signaling Junhui to follow.

Junhui took a quick glance behind him as the voices started to sound closer again. With a small prayer tangling from his lips, he entered the stream. But as soon as the water hit his mare’s legs she stopped, whickering loudly. Junhui patted her forelock lightly for her to continue, but the mare didn't move.

_“I see them!”_

"My God Junhui, hurry up!" Wonwoo yelled urgently.

Cold sweat drenched Junhui’s neck. Was that it? After all they have been through, they get caught not even a day out? "I'm coming!” he yelled back. “Come on love, you can do it, come on." he whispered, caressing the mare’s neck gently. And luckily, it worked. After a few more sweet words, she finally made a few steps forward and the knight crossed the stream safely.

The two immediately began running again. Soon they found themselves twisting around giant rocks. They had found the valley that Wonwoo promised. They kept going, eyes only focused on the huge obstacles that extended in front of them. 

At a particularly steep turn, Junhui miscalculated the width of the rock and scratched his shoulder. His sleeve tore off and he held back a whine. Blood immediately oozed from the wound, staining his shirt. But he didn’t stop. Their safety came first, he would take care of himself later, if they managed to lose the soldiers.

And they did. After what seemed forever, they succeeded on passing through the rather dangerous field, reaching in a small clearing. The yells from behind had faded and neither the noise of hooves was heard.

"You think we're safe?" Junhui asked between shallow breaths.

"No. They may have slowed down because of the rocks, but they will definitely catch up." Wonwoo said, a hand twisted over his lower body. "At least they've lost sight of us for now. We have to find Mingyu and Minghao."

"Yes, let's go... I hope they are alright." Junhui sighed and moved towards the pines at the other end of the clearing.

"Wait." Wonwoo placed a palm on his chest as Junhui passed in front of him. He caught the tangling fabric of his tore sleeve, completely ripping it off before he tied it around his bleeding arm. "Now go."

"You're so sweet Won. Thank you." Junhui flashed him a cute smile.

"Let's find the others. I bet my head that Mingyu is at the brick of freaking out." Wonwoo snickered, swinging his reins. His face fell. "I hope he is okay, I shouldn't have sent him away like this. I just… panicked." he admitted, getting his horse to speed up.

"You did the right thing. Trust me. You had higher chances to escape than Mingyu if he had stayed behind." Junhui comforted him lightly.

"Let's just find him." Wonwoo shook his head. "He'll be alright. He will be safe." Junhui heard his friend mutter to himself.

"Don't worry Won. Minghao is with him." Junhui said, coming beside him. “That’s says a lot.”

Wonwoo just nodded for the last time, before dropping the subject and enter the forest. They stride through the trees trying to find their two friends. As the minutes ticked by, Junhui noticed that Wonwoo’s breathing had become rigid, his face spasming as he tried to shallow his pain.

"How do we know Minghao is with him? How are we even going to find them?" Wonwoo asked from his side. The trees became thicker as they kept walking further into them, having yet no sign from their friends.

Junhui sighed. "Minghao is smart Won. I bet that he has already drag Mingyu at a safe place. Somewhere we can find them." he explained. And then an idea popped up, making Junhui’s cogs turn in his head. “Wait a minute, Won. I maybe know where they might be." he smirked, pulling the reins to halt his mare.

Wonwoo stopped as well, head whipping to face Junhui. "Where? We must hurry, those guards will catch up anytime." he asked.

"If they are indeed there... Minghao is a freaking genius.” Junhui mumbled, cracking a grin. “Follow me Wonwoo." he said and hit the reins, double backing.

Wonwoo had no choice but to follow him. Luckily, he still trusted Junhui, even he had failed on protecting them before. He didn't question when Junhui marched back towards their small clearing, even though he seemingly itched to do. He didn’t even ask about the different road Junhui took, making the Chinese really happy.

Junhui lead them past the clearing, towards a river and begun following it up north. He stopped after a few meters and climbed down his horse. His eyes darted around. They should be there. There wasn’t any other place that Minghao could have bring them, securing the fact that were going to be found by the knights. It was the river that they had talked yesterday. The only shared location between them. Junhui walked a few steps, sweat drenching him again as then started searching around.

“Junhui what-“

The sound of hooves approaching cut Wonwoo’s sentence and suddenly two horses appeared from behind the bushes. Both knights immediately drew their swords, but as the two came closer they heard a distinct voice.

"Wonwoo?" Mingyu voiced softly.

"Mingyu!" the knight whisper-shouted back and climbed down as quickly as he could.

"Wait don't-" Junhui started as he watched Wonwoo landing on his feet, clutching his side painfully.

Mingyu hastily got of his own horse and run to him. "You're alright!" he said hugging him tightly. "But... But you sent me away!" he pushed the knight's shoulders so he could face him. "I'm not a helpless baby! I should be able to choose what I do!" he continued but hugged Wonwoo again.

"I'm sorry love. But you're not ready to face a sword yet. I'm the one that is supposed to protect you Mingyu." Wonwoo whispered sweetly tears finally escaping his eyes, his fingers threading in the footman’s brown locks.

"Can you have this fight later?" Minghao said curtly, approaching on his horse "Get on your horses, all three of you." he ordered. “We don’t have time.”

Junhui glared at him as he returned back to his mare. "I don't want ruin the atmosphere. But unfortunately, he is right. We have to leave." he sighed deeply, settling down on the saddle. “Though he could be a little more polite.” he said pointedly.

“We don’t have time for politeness Junhui.” the prince argued again. “Get on with it.”

Wonwoo nodded and tugged Mingyu down for a brief kiss. "We'll talk about it later. Let's go." he mumbled, caressing his cheeks gently.

Mingyu bit his lip but nodded, placing a peck on Wonwoo’s open palm. He helped the knight up his horse again before he headed to his own. "Alright. Where to?" he asked when he climbed up.

“Let’s head south. If we stay out of the main path as much as possible, we should be safe.” Wonwoo suggested.

“Alright. Lead the way.” Minghao agreed, waiting for the knight to come to the front.

“I don’t want to be the disagreeing one but, we left some of our supplies back when we escaped.” Junhui commented from behind. “Maybe we should search for a town or a village nearby, so we can refill.” 

“Alright then. Let’s keep our eyes and ears open for the next civilization that could be on our way.” Minghao said, and with that they started walking away from the riverbank, moving towards the woods.  
  


~*~

The company rode for hours, passing through tall pine trees and aged sycamores, heading north. They did briefly pass the main road, being extra careful of their surroundings in case the guards were back, before they vanished in the thick foliage once again. 

It wasn’t until early afternoon when they finally stumbled across another small village, hidden in the heart of the forest. The plan was simple; get in the village, find a supply shop, buy whatever they needed and then get as far as way as possible. They couldn’t afford to stay at one place for a long time. Not now that they had someone on their tail. Fortunately, everyone understood that.

Junhui and Wonwoo worked quickly on a list of things they believed were necessary for the rest of their long journey, and Minghao came up with one more excuse about the golden coins. For the first time their teamwork was excellent.

As soon as they found the shop they were looking for, they got to work. They were quick and efficient, with Minghao doing all the talking as the rest were scattered around the shop to find what they were looking for.

One by one the things from the two knights’ mental list were scratched out; two more lanterns with a couple of flick stones, two meters of woolen fabric, a couple of clothes so they could have spare changes, bars of levanter soap and of course food. They even bought a couple of medical supplies, like bandages and rubbing alcohol, just in case they were needed.

Minghao for once was proud about their cooperation. Junhui stayed quiet as he had promised he would, and Wonwoo was only talking about the supplies. Mingyu was silent too, giving Minghao the freedom to craft for them whatever story was more believable. Luckily it all worked out smoothly. The man that had the shop helped them out with their stuff, without asking unnecessary questions. So almost in the blink of an eye, the four of them paid and rode away.

After they left the village, their horses loaded they trailed back into the forest to find somewhere to spend the night. They rode for half an hour towards the north, passing through the woods, until they found themselves in front of a small clearing.

Minghao felt his jaw go slack as soon as his eyes met with the view. Soft green grass was spreading under their bootied feet, still moisturized from the humid that the air around them carried. A protective cliff was stretching tall and big at the end of the clearing, a huge waterfall hugging its rocky surface.

The crystal waters fell directly in a small lake underneath, the splashing sound mingling beautifully with the chirping of the birds and the echo of the forest. The clearing was also surrounded by thick bushes, tall trees and vines, making it invisible from the main road.

"I believe we are fine here." Junhui mumbled.

Minghao was the first to drop to the ground. "We can refill our water supply." he agreed.

"Let's stay then." Wonwoo said, trying to get off the horse.

Mingyu went to help him down slowly, as the two others reached the lake. They tide their horses on the trees nearby, taking the saddles off their backs together with their newly bought supplies.

"There you go beautiful." Junhui cooed in Mandarin, stroking his mare's brown mane. "You deserve rest too. Thank you for today. And in sorry for the river." he continued whispering, kissing the animal’s head.

"If only you were half as nice to me as you are to her." Minghao teased next to him, patting his own horse.

"I don't think you would appreciate it. I believe you would take that more like an irony rather than a complement." Junhui smirked at the prince.

"Try me." Minghao said, looking at the ground.

Before the other could reply though, he turned to Mingyu and Wonwoo. The knight looked a little stiff, but nowhere near as bad as the previous day.

"How do you feel?" Minghao asked quickly. Everything to avert the conversation Junhui was trying to start.

"Fine." the knight sighed, shifting his weigh more on Mingyu’s shoulder. "Give me a minute and I'll help you with the tent."

"No you won't. You still need rest." Mingyu frowned, tighting his hold on the other’s waist.

Wonwoo looked at him and tried to say something but Minghao cut them. "Gyu why don't you settle the horses and I will take Wonwoo somewhere to sit hm?" he smiled sweetly.

Despite everything, Mingyu still looked reluctant to let the knight out of his grip. "I don't..." he mumbled looking to the ground "I mean..." he fumbled with his words

Minghao gently pulled Wonwoo to his side. "Come on pup." he smiled at him, using Junhui's nickname. “Everything is alright, Wonwoo won’t go far.”

"Fine." Mingyu groaned and went to tie the other two horses on another tree, close to Minghao's and Junhui's.

"He is a pain. I understand." Minghao joked as he walked with the knight towards Junhui who had started making a campsite.

"He really isn't." Wonwoo disagreed.

It was rare of him to ever oppose Minghao's words, so whenever he did the prince realised he was saying something important.

"A lot have happened in a little time. It's gotten to both of us." the knight added with a sigh.

Minghao eyed him sympathetically. "Don't worry Wonwoo. You'll come around. As I said; everything is going to be fine." he said softly.

"I'm still helping with the tent though." Wonwoo said as Minghao helped him sit down beneath a tree.

"I think Minghao and I are perfectly capable of doing that ourselves. In the meantime, why don't you take a small bath in the lake." Junhui voiced as he walked towards them.

Wonwoo sighed deeply. Junhui had a point, Minghao thought. The cold water would greatly help on the knight’s injured side.

"If none of you want me to help, then I have no choice." he mumbled with a frown.

"Don't get us wrong Won. We just want you to get better quicker." Junhui smiled and placed his forearm on Minghao's shoulder leaning on him.

Minghao slapped his arm off. Junhui let out a dramatic cry, that the prince snickered at.

"Do you want me to help you in the water or call Mingyu?" Minghao asked Wonwoo.

"What do you think is the best?" Wonwoo smirked.

"Yah, you're not getting half naked in a lake with your boyfriend when we're right next to you!" Junhui said and Minghao stifled a laugh.

"Looks like you're stuck with me Minghao." Wonwoo laughed.

And Minghao shrugged. "Not a problem." he smiled and offered Wonwoo a hand to drag him up.  
  


~*~

Junhui watched with an amused smile as Minghao helped Wonwoo to the lake. They prince did everything with meticulous and calculated moves, careful not to pressure Wonwoo more than necessary. When the knight was out of his clothes and down to his underwear, he leaned his weight on Minghao’s arm so he could step in the lake.

Junhui stifled a laugh at Minghao’s wobbly legs. He was a stubborn prince and he proved that every time, not backing away from anything he was being challenged with. Then unconsciously his eyes fell on Mingyu.

The Chinese chuckled at the footman’s conflicted face. The frown of jealousy had appeared on his features. He sighed and started taking the fabric rim of the tent out of his bag. It was obvious that a talk will follow and pretty soon.

"Minghao. Can you help me?" he shouted to the prince.

The prince looked at him, then he whispered something to Wonwoo, who laughed heartily. Junhui rolled his eyes. What were they, ten-year-olds? After Wonwoo was fully submerged in the water, Minghao actually returned to Junhui.

"Did someone call for help?" he said with a smirk.

Junhui sighed and looked at him. "Look there." he simply voiced, pointing towards the footman with his eyes.

Minghao did and groaned. "I refuse to babysit. It's their relationship, they are responsible for fixing it." he declared. "They should take our example." he then added with a laugh.

The knight arched a questioning eyebrow. "I don't think you want them to. Neither do I." he sighed.

"I meant the talk, you buffoon!" Minghao pushed his shoulder "Anyway, this tent won't build itself. Hurry up!" Minghao clapped his hands and walked towards their supplies.

Junhui chuckled before speaking again. "Um Minghao?" he said, pointing at the tent's fabric in his hands.

Minghao looked at the fabric then back at Junhui's face slowly. Without missing another bit, he marched up to him and snatched it from his hands.

"We are never mentioning this moment again." Minghao said through clenched teeth and walked away so he could find a spot that would provide the most shade in the morning.

Junhui threw his head back laughing as he followed the prince. They spent a few minutes searching and evaluating the trees around them, until they eventually found a tree with a branch that could be a good brace for the fabric to be hanged on.

Repeating the same prosses as the previous day, they tossed the fabric, passing it above the thick wood and let it unfold. Then they stretched it out, before they hammered the four rods at its corners.

"Should we spread clothes to the ground?" Minghao wondered, scratching his head. “We don’t have a wooden bed this time.”

"Not our clothes." Junhui chided. "Maybe we can find something else. Like, like we can make something out with that extra fabric we bought." He proposed.

"Spread the fabric to the ground?" Minghao shrugged.

"We can do that for now." the Chinese agreed.

"Great." Minghao nodded and went to get the extra fabric from their bags.

Junhui sighed as he watched the prince walking away. Minghao was really quick on his feet Junhui realised. It only took him a minute to reach their supplies and snatch the piece of fabric they needed. As he returned, he passed by Mingyu, who had sat down next to the horses.

"Stop being a stalker and go talk to him already." he heard him saying, before he kicked the footman’s thigh.

Unconsciously, Junhui began moving a little closer, just in case he was needed. Once again, he found himself agreeing with the prince. He could understand how thin the line between Mingyu and Wonwoo had become since they were imprisoned. They _needed_ to talk. It was only a matter of time before something happen to send them over the edge.

Mingyu yelped and turned his face to look at the prince. "Not now..." he answered him.

At that the prince arched him a judging eyebrow, placing his empty hand on his hip. Junhui snickered, Minghao could become so funny without realizing it. It was so amusing.

"I will let him rest first. We had a long journey and he is still wounded." Mingyu sighed and stood up. “What are you up to?" he asked Minghao.

"Building you a tent so you can sleep." Minghao replied.

"What about you? Won't you sleep tonight?" Mingyu asked again.

"I should." the prince agreed and looked at the Junhui when he finally approached them. "Junhui can you guard tonight?"

"Obviously I would. You need rest Minghao." Junhui sighed as he took the extra fabric in his arms.

He then trailed back, with the other two on his toe. He kneeled down with a groan and tossed the fabric, spreading it neatly under the shade of the tent.

"And food." the prince added, sitting on the spread fabric. “We need food.”

"I think we have some leftovers from yesterday. We should finish those before we eat the fresh food.” Junhui said, rising on his feet. “Oh, and the herbs that Mingyu and I gathered. I think it’s enough for me to make one more round of tea."

"Aright. You do that." Minghao said waving his hand dismissively as he lied back.

Junhui cleared his throat before he grinned "What's the magic word?" he sing-songed.

Minghao rose back up with a glare on his face, making Mingyu laughed. "You certainly don't expect me to say it..." he said.

Junhui crouched down in front of the prince and turned his face to the side, showing Minghao his ear.  
"I'm waiting." he said, flattering his eyelashes.

Minghao then smirked. He leaned in Junhui's space, near his ear. "Please gē. Make me some tea?" he whispered sweetly in Mandarin.

Junhui pushed him back down and promptly got up, rubbing his ear. That little weasel. He would do anything to have his way. Junhui bit the inside of his cheek, heat rising on his cheeks.

"Hyung, are you blushing?" Mingyu asked confused. “What did you day to him Minghao?”

Minghao just cackled delighted.

"I'm not blushing Mingyu, don't be ridiculous." Junhui shook his head. "I going to prepare food." he declared and walked away, leaving the other two behind.  
  


~*~

Minghao chuckled amused as he watched the knight retreating. He had finally managed to fluster Junhui, the person who seemed to have no knowledge of personal space. That was an accomplishment.

"Seriously though. What did you say?" Mingyu asked again sitting beside his best friend.

Minghao ruffled his friend's hair. "Do your legs hurt at all from riding for so long or is it just me?" he simply asked instead.

"Honestly I feel like dead meat. My muscles are cramping just by breathing. But that doesn't bother me too much." Mingyu shrugged before he frowned.

"And what is it that bothers you? Apart from your freezing boyfriend in the lake, I mean." Minghao questioned.

"Nothing. Just my freezing boyfriend and the way he acted in the morning. And now." he mumbled the last part.

"At least your freezing boyfriend is safe. He will feel a lot better after his bath." Minghao sighed, patting his friend on the back.

"I hope he will..." Mingyu voiced, as he watched Wonwoo speaking to Junhui while the Chinese boiled the tea.

Minghao followed Mingyu’s line of sight. _We have an actual problem here_ , he thought seriously. "When Junhui is done with the food, do you want to help him out of the water so we can eat?" he proposed then.

"If he let me. He chose you over me previously." Mingyu mumbled around a pout.

"Yeah, we also slept holding hands yesterday. I'm definitely stealing him from you." Minghao said sarcastically.

Mingyu glance at him. His face showed all his emotions. His worry about him and Wonwoo mixed with the horrible fear of losing him. Minghao heaved a sigh and put an arm around Mingyu's bigger shoulders.

"I'm sorry. Your emotions had been all over the place ever since our escape and I'm worried." he admitted "Do you... Do you want to talk to me about the... prison?" he asked carefully.

At that moment Junhui's voice was heard. "The tea is ready." he shouted.

"Maybe some other time. It's getting late anyway. I'm gonna help Wonwoo." the footman smiled and stood up.

Minghao stretched his arms above his head. He begrudgingly stood up as well and pulled his legs all the way to Junhui's small fire.

"Don't forget to put this out before night falls." he said, plopping on the ground.

"Don't worry. I will." Junhui smiled and gave him a cup with warm tea. "How are you feeling?" he asked then.

"Peachy." Minghao smiled "And I have no idea why. Must be the adrenaline."

"It will die down when you go to sleep. It's because you're tired." Junhui answered taking a sip of his own tea.

His gaze then fell on the couple at the lake. Minghao looked towards them as well. Mingyu had crouched down on Wonwoo's eye level and has caressing the knight's cheeks and wet hair. Wonwoo was smiling sweetly up at him, mumbling something that neither of them could hear.

Minghao grinned a little but Junhui’s deep sigh brought his attention back on the knight. He looked troubled, his eyes not glinting enough as they always did.

The prince gaze then fell on the knight’s arm, his eyes widening. Was that wound there this morning? Certainly not. He bit his lip, making a small mental note to maybe ask Junhui about it later. "...How are _you_ feeling?" he said instead.

"Weird." Junhui said monotonically.

Minghao was taken aback. "You? Weird? Isn't this day full of surprises." he said.

"It's nothing really. Perhaps it's because I haven't rested." the Chinese mumbled.

Minghao pursed his lips. "Okay, but just to let you know, today we did great. There is no reason for you to be sad. We escaped the guards, we made plans, we bought new things and now we're eating and resting. These two are going back to be lovey-dovey any moment now." he pointed at the couple. "Come on, tell me more positive things that happened today." Minghao urged him.

"We didn't argue." Junhui smiled lightly, looking back at him.

"Ah. The highlight of the day, actually." Minghao said nodding. "Keep going."

"I don't know Minghao. I know we did great things today. But I still feel weird." the Chinese sighed. "I'll be fine though." he smiled.

Mingyu’s and Wonwoo’s footsteps echoed as the two approached them, sitting by the fire.

"What are you two doing?" Wonwoo asked.

"We're mopping." Minghao deadpanned "None of you are in a good mood. Do you want me to hug you all or something?"

“I would like a hug.” Wonwoo said and smiled at his boyfriend who wrapped him in a warm blanket, “Thanks love. So, why are you mopping?” the knight asked.

"Yeah, Junhui, why?" Minghao added.

Junhui’s eyes fell on the ground, a faint smile tugging on his lips. "I guess I'm feeling a little lonely." he whispered and stood up going towards the tent.

The other three exchanged looks.

"He is so dramatic, I'll never get used to it." Minghao groaned.

"I should go check on him." Wonwoo tried to get up, but Minghao noticed the pout on Mingyu's face at those words.

"No stay still. I'll go." Minghao sighed and stood up.

He made a bee line towards the stretched fabric, crossing his arms in front of his chest. What was wrong with everybody today? Minghao could actually understand Mingyu’s depressed mood, yes. His friend had gone through a lot the past two days, and it was logical for him to feel overwhelmed.

But Junhui? What had gotten into _him_ all of a sudden? 

When he reached the tent, Minghao crouched in front of its opening, his eyes meeting Junhui’s curled form.

"Hey, king of mopping. You made a pretty dramatic exit back there." he spoke, poking the knight on his ankle.

But Junhui didn't answer him. He was laying on his side, looking at the tent's fabric.

Minghao frowned at the silence. "Junhui. Don't make me come in there. This is weird." he continued.

"You can always go back to the others." Junhui mumbled softly his eyes shifting to look at Minghao’s face.

"And leave you feeling _'lonely'_? Where did that even come from?" Minghao asked.

"I don't know. It's a feeling, it just appears." Junhui laughed lightly.

"Why though?" the prince said, sitting down at the edge of the tent.

Junhui shrugged. "Maybe I miss my friends a little. Yanan and Xuxi. Kun and Sicheng. They were my family and I have never gone away from them for too long." he sighed. "I hope Yanan has taken my letter."

Minghao hummed. "I'm sure they'll miss you too. I... I hope you're not regretting this decision." he spoke a little hesitantly, averting his eyes from the knight.

"I don't." Junhui voiced. "It's just." he sighed. "Never mind. I'll be fine. You can go back to them, I'll come as well shortly. I have to guard anyway." he hastily said.

Minghao suddenly yawned. "And I have to sleep." he said, crawling deeper in the tent.

He lied down, carefully angling his limbs away from Junhui. "So, who is it that you miss the most?" he added, looking upwards.

Junhui sighed. "Maybe Yanan." he chuckled softly.

"Yanan. The guy who stopped you from hurting that person, right?" Minghao hummed.

"That one." Junhui laughed. "It was actually the second time that saved someone from my hands. I've told you that."

"Tell me more about him then. How was your relationship like?" Minghao continued asking.

"I don't think you want know my relationship with Yanan. I don't know if your heart will take it." Junhui chuckled and rolled over so he could face Minghao.

"Oh? Now I'm more curious." Minghao glanced at him.

Junhui heaved a sigh "With Yanan I have a weird relationship to be honest. We are like you and Mingyu. Practically like brothers. But we are more intimate with each other." he smiled fondly.

"Intimate?" the prince raised an eyebrow

"Let's say that we love each other too much. It's weird." Junhui laughed. "But it's all just for fun. We are too comfortable. It's hilarious the face that someone makes when he first hears us talking."

"You're always weird. I'm not surprised." Minghao snickered.

"It's my nature my dear prince." the Chinese smiled.

"Your nature is weird." the prince yawned again and turned on his side, facing Junhui.

He curled his arms beneath his head and drew his legs closer to his chest.

"What's fun about normal anyway." the other mumbled looking at Minghao, his iconic smile on his lips.

"Normal is as nice too. Don't try to be poetic." Minghao rolled his eyes.

"I guess I can't be normal for too long." Junhui shrugged.

"How do you even define normal. You're you. Everyone is different. Can you name one person you know that is _'normal'_?" the prince said thoughtfully.

"Maybe you? Not like a hundred present, but you are close." he voiced softly.

"What?" Minghao asked confused.

"You're close to normal. My normal at least." he snickered.

"Me? Seriously?" Minghao said disbelievingly. "How?"

"Well you're more normal than the rest of us so..." Junhui answered.

"Well. That's nice to hear, I guess." Minghao smiled and yawned for the third time.

Junhui arched him an eyebrow. Then he laughed softly. "Maybe I should get back. I have guarding duty..." he trailed.

Minghao closed his eyes and wiggled around, getting more comfortable.

"Not yet. Give those two some space. They need to talk." he said.

"Are you sure?" Junhui eyed him carefully.

"Yes. Stay." Minghao repeated with pursed lips.

Junhui sighed and closed his eyes. It seemed that the knight was fighting back the sleep that creeped on him little by little.

"Tell me something about you. Anything. I feel you know things about me, but I don't know the slightest about you." he whispered softly.

"I'm just a normal person, right?" Minghao laughed lightly.

"That doesn't make you any less interesting to my eyes." Junhui grinned.

"Oh, I'm interesting now? Your soft side is showing Junhui." Minghao kept laughing.

"Is it that bad?" Junhui smiled wider, his teeth showing.

"Terrible." Minghao said dramatically.

"I'm sorry then. I will shut up." the Chinese sighed.

Minghao bit his lip and reached his hand out, tugging the other's sleeve. "Honestly, I don't know what to tell you about myself. I am what you see, I guess." he admitted.

"I don't believe that, one bit. I'm sure you're so much more." the knight voiced.

"Well. You have all the time in the world to get to know me." Minghao mumbled, feeling his head getting heavier from sleep.

"If you let me, I'll be sure to take advantage of that time." Junhui voiced and closed the distance between their hands.

Minghao opened his eyes and looked at their fingers, almost joining each other. He drew his palm back to his side.

After that, silence spread. He could hear the sounds of the nature outside the tent. The wind was blowing lightly, making the leaves of the trees dance to its rhythm. Their rustle was like the sweetest lullaby Minghao had ever heard. Calm and continuous, it spread the peace in his aching limbs.

The prince was sure he could also hear bugs buzzing in the distance, their melodies joining the splashing of the waterfall. The forest was preparing to fall asleep with them and let the creatures of the night take charge. The hooting of the owls echoed from time to time, together with the faint howls of the animals the wind carried with him.

Junhui had closed his eyes, his breath evening out as the time passed. He wouldn't do the guarding duty as it seemed.

Minghao had an inner debate about waking him up or not. They shouldn't remain unguarded an entire night and he didn't want to ask Wonwoo or Mingyu to do it. They both needed all the rest they could get. He couldn't stay awake for a second night in a row either.

"Trained warrior, you said. It's easy to stay awake, you said." Minghao murmured bitterly, while Junhui let out a sigh.

Then all of a sudden, a shadow caught the prince’s eye. Minghao sat up anxiously but he quickly felt relieved as Wonwoo made his way towards him.

"I see you two are already half asleep." he whispered.

"Yeah." Minghao said, exhaling deeply. "How are you?"

"I’m better. I actually came to tell Junhui that I wanted to take his sift. I need to talk with Mingyu, so there's no point in making him stay awake." Wonwoo chuckled at his friend's already sleeping figure.

"Oh. I think he would agree." Minghao smiled.

"Perfect then. We will be right there if you need anything. And I'll make sure that I will put out the fire." Wonwoo smiled back. He then glanced down on Junhui once more, tsking disapprovingly.

“Jeez Junhui. I told him to clean his shoulder.” he said judgmentally.

Minghao sighed at that. “Trust Junhui to take care of everyone else besides himself.”

“Well, I will force him to treat it tomorrow.” Wonwoo shrugged, looking at the prince. "Anyway, I’ll let you take some rest. You deserve it." he said and turned his back, leaving Minghao.

When Wonwoo was no longer in Minghao's line of vision, his eyes fell on Junhui again.

"You are one lucky knight." he mumbled, tugging the end of his sleeve once more.

Junhui sighed again. A small smile forming on his lips. He was so different when he was sleeping Minghao observed. Calm and peaceful, unlike his morning self.

Everyone seemed to be more likable when they were asleep. Maybe that's why Minghao always felt the need to get closer to people when sleep was around the corner. He touched Junhui's hand again, running his knuckles over the knight's.

He held his breath as he brushed his fingertips against the rest of Junhui's hand. Then his eyes widen as he saw Junhui sighing and smiling softly at his touch.

In the spam of two days, Minghao would have slept next to two people he didn't even know existed a couple months ago. He definitely felt more comfortable next to Wonwoo, but it was somehow more secure with Junhui. That night, sleep came much easier to him.  
  


~*~

Wonwoo and Mingyu were sitting by the fire talking softly.

"So, how was the bath earlier?" Mingyu said, trailing his fingertips across knobs of Wonwoo's spine.

"Cold. Really cold." the knight complained, leaning his head on Mingyu's shoulder. "But it helped clear my mind, and well... I feel like we should talk a bit about boundaries." he whispered.

"I know... I hate it when we are like that." Mingyu frowned.

"Alright. Do you want to go first?" Wonwoo asked, wrapping his arms around the other's waist and placing his chin on the taller's shoulder to look at him.

"Well, the thing is that.” the footman started, heaving a small sigh “Look Wonwoo, I'm not a child okay? I can stand up for myself. Honestly, I didn't like the way you sent me away this morning.” Mingyu explained “I was so worried about you."

"I know baby, I'm sorry." Wonwoo sighed as well. "I was worried that you were going to get caught.  
All I thought about was how I wasn't going to let you go back to that prison."

"Yes, but what would I do if they took _you_ in? The only thing I could think of was you and Junhui hyung being dragged away by those soldiers. And it didn't help that you were late at meeting us.” Mingyu whined. “You took an awfully long time to return." he chided, booping the knight’s nose softly.

Wonwoo scrunched his nose and smiled. He finally felt calm, after a long day.

"I hate being separated from you." he admitted "But sometimes I have to protect you. I'm a knight, after all."

"I know love. But we are together now. We must protect each other." Mingyu smiled sweetly.

"Yes, but _I_ have to protect you more. You are still a beginner at sword fighting and I'm older. It's not talking about not letting you make your own decisions though. It's about finding the best way to stay safe, both of us." Wonwoo reasoned.

Mingyu pouted at him like a wounded puppy. Although he could understand where Wonwoo was coming from he clearly didn't like it.

"But. I'll make sure to keep you as close as possible, okay?" Wonwoo kissed the pout away.  
"I get so nervous when you aren’t close nowadays..." he frowned.

"You have no idea..." Mingyu whispered and brushed Wonwoo's lips with his locking them on a second kiss.

"We got a bit messed up, didn't we?" Wonwoo murmured, wrapping both of his hands around Mingyu's neck.

“Mmm…”

They continued lazily kissing for a bit, thinking about their predicament and comforting themselves. There was not much that could be said about this newfound attachment. They had to see how it developed, if it would go away on its own, or start becoming a trouble for their team.

"Hey," Wonwoo said at some point. "The lake helped calm me down earlier." he added suggestively.

"Wonwoo. I can't swim. Remember?" Mingyu pointed out confused.

"Hmm we need to fix that." Wonwoo kissed him again "But tonight we can just sit at the shallow part."

"Are you sure? What if it is deep. I will drown." the other said a little scared.

"Hyung will protect you." Wonwoo winked and leaned back.

Mingyu huffed. "Alright fine. Let's...get in then." he said and stood up slowly.

Wonwoo smiled standing up well, following Mingyu to the edge of the little lake. The waterfall was as beautiful as ever. Illuminated by the moonlight, it’s waters were glittering as the currents drove them underground.

"Can you help me with my shirt?" Wonwoo asked, unconsciously clutching his bruised side.

"Of course." Mingyu whispered and took a button on his fingers undoing it carefully. When he unbuttoned all of them, he slid the soft fabric off Wonwoo's slim shoulders caressing his pale skin gently.

Wonwoo blushed a bit. It hit him once again how much he liked Mingyu, how much he wanted him all the time. Especially when the younger turned around and started taking his own clothes off. Wonwoo's eyes trailed from his bare arms to his toned back. Footmen were supposed to be handsome men, to grab attention and awe. In Wonwoo's opinion, they couldn't have picked a better footman than Kim Mingyu.

Mingyu turned back at him again and started taking off his breeches. His eyes were locked with Wonwoo's, trapping him like a small deer in a hunter’s snare. The footman disposed the fabric along with his leather boots and then he came closer to the knight, hooking a finger in his waistband.

"I want it off too please." he whisper, pecking Wonwoo’s cheek.

"I'm an injured man Gyu. Do it for me." Wonwoo smiled seductively.

Mingyu smirked back and started untying the string that held Wonwoo's pants around his waist. He lowered them slowly never taking his eyes off of the knight. When he reached Wonwoo's boots he undid the buckles on the sides and tapped his calves gently. Wonwoo lifted his feet one by one helping the other to take the shoes off. When Wonwoo's pants were untangle from around his legs Mingyu stood up.

"When I say three you jump." he said and smirked.

Wonwoo cocked his head to the side questioningly but nodded anyway.

"One..." Mingyu stepped even closer. "Two..." he loosely snaked his arms around Wonwoo's middle. "Three."

Wonwoo jumped. Mingyu grabbed his waist tightly, keeping him airborne, careful not to touch his injured skin. He then griped his forearms with his hands, placing them under Wonwoo’s bottom for better support. The knight giggled and wrapped his legs around the taller's body, his hands clasping tightly behind his neck.

Mingyu pecked his lips." Let's go." he said and walked towards the shallow part of the lake.

He carefully and slowly dipped one leg inside. The water level reached all the way to his knee. Mingyu gulped but he continued going further inside, tighting the grip under the knight’s butt.

"How do you walk so calmly? Isn't the water freezing?" Wonwoo asked, his eyebrows raising in administration.

"Yes, but you're so hot." Mingyu winked.

Wonwoo huffed a laugh before kissing him hard, making the poor footman halt in his steps in fear of falling over. Wonwoo pulled away quickly, smirking down at his boyfriend.

"What are you waiting for?" he said.

"Nothing." Mingyu shrugged and with a sift move, he dipped them in the cold water.

Wonwoo stifled a squeal, biting down on Mingyu's shoulder. The footman made himself comfortable on the lake’s bed, and relaxed his grip on Wonwoo, letting him slip on his lap. The knight was still holding tightly though.

"It's even colder than it was before." he whined.

"Come on love it's not that bad." Mingyu giggle softly at his boyfriend's whining.

It took a while for Wonwoo to get used to the lower temperature, but when he did, he happily used the water to soak Mingyu's hair face, laughing all the way.

Mingyu wiped his face and smirked evilly. Suddenly he grabbed Wonwoo's biceps and with a quick move he dipped them under the cold water. Under the liquid's surface Mingyu kissed Wonwoo's lips softly, small bubbles of oxygen escaping their mouths and making their way up.

They resurfaced when they were out of breath.

"I love you." Wonwoo said, placing his head between Mingyu's neck and shoulder. "And there's literally not a thing that I wouldn't do if you asked me now."

"Just kiss me. That's all I want for you right now. Make me forget those horrible hours we sat on those cells." Mingyu whispered.

Wonwoo felt his heart break at those words. Mingyu hadn't deserved what he went through. If it wasn't for himself, the footman would have never gotten in such a mess. Wonwoo leaned back to look at Mingyu straight in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry." he mumbled, biting his lips.

"No. I didn't mean it like that baby. Don't blame yourself, yes? We both passed a really bad time in that basement. But we are together now, and we are good. Everything is going to be alright." Mingyu smiled softly and caressed Wonwoo's pained side.

Wonwoo closed his eyes, feeling his sensitive skin tingle all over.

"If it wasn't for me though you would have been safe." he continued sadly.

"And unhappy." Mingyu clarified sweetly. "Wonwoo you are the first and most important person in my life. Don't ever forget that."

"You are mine too." Wonwoo said, leaning forward and placing all his weight on Mingyu's torso.

He finally had words to express his feelings. Feelings that he could never have experienced, much less acknowledged if he had not met the younger. Mingyu always made him so happy and comfortable while he explored himself.

"I don't want to feel guilty anymore." he confessed, his face centimeters away from Mingyu's. "So, I'm going to kiss all the guilt away once and for all. There will be no regrets after tonight." he whispered, his palms cupping Mingyu's cheeks and the other let out a breathless sound.

Wonwoo connected their mouths breathing lightly on the contact. He nibbled Mingyu's soft lips making the footman groan in pleasure. That gave him the chance to slip his tongue inside. He gently massaged it on Mingyu's own tongue deepening the kiss.

Mingyu sighed, happily letting Wonwoo lead the kiss. He ran his hands up and down Wonwoo's slippery back, finally settling them on his thighs. He gripped on the soft flesh and pulled, bringing their bodies flush to each other. Wonwoo wrapped his arms around Mingyu's neck, as the make out to became more intense.

Mingyu left Wonwoo's lips and started kissing his jawline, biting softly on the chiseled bone. There were droplets of water all over the knight's skin and Mingyu made a point to lick every, one of them.

The footman swayed them gently from side to side, feeling the water twirling around their bodies. Wonwoo's arms dropped to Mingyu's biceps and he tilted his head upwards, baring his neck to the other.

Mingyu hummed, diving down to lick the knight's wet neck. His hot breath ghosted over the heated skin, leaving goosebumps on its way.

"You're so pretty love. So, so beautiful." Mingyu all but growled, biting down Wonwoo's shoulder.

Wonwoo groaned and pulled Mingyu's face back to his mouth. It tasted so sweet. It felt amazing to kiss Mingyu in the open like that, without the fear of people finding out about them. Without the possibility of _death_ , hanging above their heads.

Now, everyone knew about them. Their love wasn't hidden anymore. He had no reason not to leave a mark on his lover's skin anymore. Wonwoo leaned down and started sucking a spot on Mingyu's neck, making the other moan.

Wonwoo sucked and licked the purple petal-like mark, which stood proud on Mingyu's lower golden skin. Wonwoo lift his head, smiling down at his job.

"You're proud of yourself?" Mingyu cocked an eyebrow.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Wonwoo smirked back. "You liked it?"

"A whole fucking lot." Mingyu whispered and placed his palms on Wonwoo's sides caressing him softy. "I love you so much." he voiced softly, looking deep in Wonwoo's foxy eyes.

"Me too baby." Wonwoo kissed his cheek.

After everything they had done, that was what made Mingyu blush the most.

"If my side wasn't still sensitive, I would have done so much more." the knight whispered in his ear.

"We have all the time in the world love. As long as you're mine, we will do everything together." Mingyu answered and pecked Wonwoo's lips.

"Everything." Wonwoo repeated.

 _Everything_. That was a whole different conversation they needed to have. Wonwoo leaned back and traced a hand down Mingyu's chest, lingering on his stomach.

Wonwoo trailed his fingers on Mingyu's faded abs. He had never wondered before how the footman looked under his shirt. And now his whole body was in display in front of his eyes. His broad shoulders, his well-shaped biceps and strong back. His sun-kissed skin that was smooth and soft to the touch. Wonwoo couldn't get enough of him.

"Mingyu love. I can't get enough of you. What have you done to me?” he whined.

Mingyu wiggled his eyebrows. "The better question would be; what I'm going to do to you if you keep touching me like that." he said.

Wonwoo inhaled sharply in shock for a second before he smirked back seductively. "I'm sure it will be fantastic whatever it is." he leaned and whispered at the footman's ear.

"My body is yours Mingyu..." he voiced again licking his ear shell.

"For real?" Mingyu asked, his hands trailing towards Wonwoo's backside. "You're not just teasing?" his voice had turned lower, eyes sifting.

"We are out of that prison-like town Mingyu. We are free to do whatever we want, and no one will judge us about it. I'm yours and only. So, feel free to do what you want." Wonwoo said and pecked his cheekbone.

The footman didn't say anything. He connected his lips with Wonwoo and pulled his smaller waist towards his. The movement created a whole new friction between them.

Mingyu could feel Wonwoo so clearly under their wet undergarments. The knight was turned on and that made Mingyu smile in the kiss. He trailed his fingers lower again on Wonwoo's body resting them between his upper thighs and hips squeezing lightly.

"You're catching up fast." Wonwoo breathed in the kiss and rolled his hips.

Mingyu made a pleased sound and smirked at him.

"I know what you like." he said, using his grip on the other to move him against his body "How about taking it up a notch?" he whispered with a low voice.

"That's a really good idea baby." Wonwoo agreed before snapping his hips forward, causing a moan to slip past Mingyu's lips.

Mingyu then moved them closer to the edge of lake. He made Wonwoo sit on the bottom, leaning his back on the source. The knight was propped on his elbows and Mingyu slipped on top of him. They were both submerged in water up to their chests, the lower part of their bodies floating weightlessly.

"Are you comfortable?" Mingyu asked, kissing his neck.

"Very..." Wonwoo hummed as a whine escaped his lips. He threaded one hand in Mingyu's brown locks tagging them gently.

Mingyu slowly spread Wonwoo's thighs, sitting comfortably between them. He continued kissing the knight down to his collarbones, as he let a bit of his weight drop onto Wonwoo's waist.

Wonwoo moaned at the touch. He started feeling heat spreading all over his body, his blood trailing south. He felt Mingyu's teeth scraping on his soft skin. Every bite was making him hornier than the previous one and his breathing started becoming uneven.

"Mingyu I feel hot." Wonwoo breathed.

"You _are_ hot." Mingyu let out a throaty laugh and bit Wonwoo's jaw. "I can feel you baby." he said and pressed his hips more against the other's. "Can you feel me too? Do you see how much I want you?" Mingyu kept talking in his husky voice while gazing in Wonwoo's eyes, droplets of water falling from his wet hair, traveling down his body.

"I can feel you." Wonwoo whined deeply, his hand snaking between their legs, touching Mingyu. "So big for me." Wonwoo moaned and started stroking the footman's length.

Mingyu buried his face in the junction between Wonwoo's neck and shoulder, letting out shaky breaths.

"Shit Won..." he whined, slowly bucking his hips into the other's hand.

"Yes baby. What is it?" Wonwoo smiled proud of himself that made a whole 1,86 man breathless by using only his hand.

"I... I want you to feel this too." Mingyu managed to say, before trailing his own hand between their bodies and lightly touching Wonwoo.

The knight closed his eyes, impatiently waiting for the sensation. Mingyu tugged his undergarments down agonizingly slowly, before getting rid of his own as well. Wonwoo was combing the hair of his nape slightly with his other hand. But when Mingyu grabbed both of their lengths with his big palm, he pulled them hard with a moan.

Mingyu began moving his hand slowly, sending waves of pleasure all over the knight's whole body. He looked as Wonwoo threw his head backwards exposing his collarbones, immediately taking the chance to start leaving small bites all over the slim bones.

"So sweet." Mingyu said, licking the water that pooled there as he continued his smooth movements.

"Ahh Mingyu..." Wonwoo moaned, more to himself than to the other. "So good... Why hadn't we done this earlier." he kept mumbling as Mingyu picked up the speed.

"Do you like it baby?" Mingyu growled and scratched gently the slit of Wonwoo's length with his nail.

"My god, yes." Wonwoo heaved.

The water around them proved to be a great lubricant, so the slide of their cocks was messy. Wonwoo glanced down between their bodies, Mingyu's wet chest and his own flustered one. The cold water couldn't stop them from getting hot. When Wonwoo's eyes caught sight of Mingyu's larger hand holding his own hand and pumping their members, small puffs of air leaving his mouth at every thrust, he just lost it.

"Mingyu you're so hot. I won't last long." he whined.

"Cum baby. I’m close too." Mingyu's fruity voice ringed in the knight's ear and then he felt the pace quickening.

Wonwoo wrapped his other arm around Mingyu's neck, letting his back fall down on the water. The splash echoed a bit but neither of them was paying attention to the noises they were making. Hopefully, their friends were asleep by then. Wonwoo's grip on the other tightened, his muscles involuntarily flexing. He was right on the edge.

"Mingyu." he warned again in a small voice.

"I know. Me too." the footman breathed low. "Together." he voiced then and locked their lips in a passionate kiss.

As much as Wonwoo would have loved to finish together, Mingyu's husky voice and his lips pushed him over first. His moans were muffled by the other's mouth and for a moment, Mingyu was all Wonwoo could feel.

Mingyu hugged him tight to ground him, holding him through his orgasm. Wonwoo tried to even out his breath as he came down from his high.

"Baby are you alright?" Mingyu asked softly his breath ghosting the knight's lips.

"Yeah. Keep going baby. I want to see you cum." Wonwoo breathed.

"Why don't you help me the hm? I want to feel your hand on me love." Mingyu mumbled low.

Wonwoo kissed his cheek and did as told. Mingyu rested his forehead against the knight's, looking at his face through half lidded eyes.

"Mingyu I will never get enough of you." Wonwoo whispered.

"Me neither..." Mingyu murmured and groaned as Wonwoo's slender fingers wrapped around his cock pumping him gently.

"Harder Won..." he urged. "I'm so close... I could finish just from looking at you." Mingyu said.

Wonwoo smirked. With his free hand, he took one of Mingyu's palms, that were resting at his sides, bringing it close to his mouth. He then licked and bit his own lower lip and locked eyes with Mingyu watching him from above. With no second thought he placed two of the other's fingers in his mouth sucking them hard.

"Fuck." Mingyu cursed and with a hellishly deep moan he finished hard, painting both of their abdomens white. He heaved slowly coming down from his high. "Fuck I love you." he said and kissed Wonwoo desperately.

"I love you too." Wonwoo breathed between the kiss as he continued stroking Mingyu lazily.

Mingyu let out a whine as Wonwoo kept touching him until the sensation of his orgasm wore off. Without thinking much, he grabbed the knight from the waist and pulling him in his arms once again. He wasn't careful about Wonwoo's bruise though, causing the knight let out a yelp.

"Ouch ouch Mingyu careful!" he whined, rapidly patting him on the chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I totally forgot that for a second." Mingyu panicked, taking his hands away.

Wonwoo pouted and carefully touched his side. "I hate that bruise. I want it gone already. I want to be able to do more with you than merely lying down." he whined.

"You know we did plenty of more previously without hurting your side." Mingyu smiled sweetly. "Don't worry love. You'll be fine in no time."

Wonwoo got closer to Mingyu again, cupping his cheeks in his hands and kissing him. If all it took to have Mingyu like this; submerged in a lake which was bathed in the moonlight, looking like some god out of a fairy tale, was to run away from a kingdom, then Wonwoo would do it a million times over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for today peopleee!!!!
> 
> I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and as always waiting for your opinion in the comments below!!!!
> 
> I wish you a great weekend and I'll see you all next Saturday!!!
> 
> Until next update; take care, have fun and stay healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	16. Our new beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo people!!!
> 
> Back again with our next chapter!!  
> But before we proceed a small clarification; when we were writting this chapter, Wonwoo hadn't hit the gym yet so you know... he was a little slimmer in our eyes then😂
> 
> That's all really, so without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

The next morning, Minghao woke up from the sound of Mingyu screaming for help.

The prince opened his eyes immediately and shot up alarmed. He glanced to his side only to realize that the knight from beside him was nowhere to be found. Had they been found again? Had the guards come back?

Without a second thought, Minghao got on his knees. "Junhui! Junhui where are you?" he started yelling. But no answer came back.

Cold sweat formed at the small of his back. He had to do something. But as he was preparing to burst out of the tent, the Chinese knight lifted the fabric. He looked down at Minghao, a teasing smile gracing his lips, as always.

"Good morning Haohao. Glad to hear you so desperately calling for me first thing in the morning." he said, cocking his head to the side.

Minghao gapped at him. "Junhui! What happened? Why is Mingyu screaming like that, and why are you so calm?" he raised his voice anxiously.

"Calm down. Wonwoo is teaching the pup how to swim. Everyone's safe." Junhui crouched down in front of him.

"He is what now?" Minghao said with disbelief. Was this some kind of a joke?

In the quietness that followed though, the prince indeed heard the sound of splashing water. Next up, came Mingyu’s laughter and Minghao fell back with a loud sigh, still trying to process the situation.

"I'm gonna kill Mingyu." he voiced between clenched teeth.

Junhui chuckled. "Come on. Let me make you some tea so you can calm down. You are going to be the next one, after all." he said nonchalantly.

"I am _what_?” Minghao asked rising back up. “Where did that came from?"

"A little bird told me that you can't swim. We're fixing that today." Junhui teased and stood up, walking away from the tent.

Minghao was quickly up on his feet, following Junhui to their small fire. The knight sat on the ground with a small groan, fetching a wooden cup and filling it with the warm tea. He then gave it to Minghao, who grumbled back a thank you.

"I'm gonna choke that bird to death." he then mumbled as he took a small sip.

The prince turned to glare at the lake that was forming underneath the waterfall. Sure enough, _the not-so-little bird_ was struggling to keep his head above the water, while Wonwoo was easily floating next to him, holding his hand encouragingly. Judging from the loving, if a little panicked look Mingyu was giving his boyfriend, they had patched things up last night. Wonwoo was also moving around easier than yesterday.

"And who told you that I want to learn how to swim?" the prince asked, looking pointedly at the other beside him.

"What you want is irrelevant at the moment." Junhui shrugged. "You never know when you'll need to fall into a river or a sea to escape from danger. I can't always be there to save you."

Minghao sot him a glare at which Junhui merely snickered.

"Come on, it will be fun. Besides, we need a bath." the knight spoke then, sniffing the air around them.

Minghao sighed a bit embarrassed and covered his face in his hands. "This day is not starting off well." he whined.

Junhui smiled at him sympathetically. Right then, as if the universe really wanted to tell Minghao that he had no other choice, Mingyu's loud voice was heard.

"Minghao, Minghao! Look! I can float!" he yelled with excitement.

"Minghao, Junhui! Come swim with us!" also Wonwoo shouted with an unusually wide smile.

Minghao looked at Junhui from the corner of his eyes. "Do I really have to?" he asked in a small voice.

"Well, if you don't want it that much, no. But it will be good for you and we will have fun all together for the first time since everything happened. So..." Junhui smiled gently as he stood up, offering his hand to the prince.

“Minghao!” Mingyu shouted again from his floating position and Minghao groaned, taking Junhui’s hand.

"Well... okay. But don't trail too far away, yeah? I don't want to have to scream for you." he said with a frown.

"I won't. You can put a little of your trust in me from time to time you know." the knight winked and squeezed Minghao's hand lightly.

The two walked towards the lake still holding hands. Mingyu, who had lifted his head to speak to Wonwoo, saw them approaching and started flailing his limbs to get closer to the shore. All he managed to do though was to sink, starting to scream for help again. Wonwoo came to his rescue with a laugh.

Minghao's forehead creased in worry from the sight, unconsciously squeezing Junhui’s hand.

"I'm here don't worry." Junhui mumbled in Mandarin and squeezed back.

He traced Minghao's knuckles with his thumbs, much like the prince had done for him the previous night. Minghao side glanced him. Had he been awake? He didn’t have time to think about it though, because Junhui’s hand let go of his as the knight started unbuttoning his shirt.

Mingyu, who had been dragged to shallow waters by Wonwoo, whistled loudly at the sight. Junhui laughed as he completely removed his shirt and turned to Minghao, who had crossed his arms around his chest and was pointedly looking away.

"Clothes off." Junhui said, tapping him on the shoulder.

"But..." Minghao mumbled under his breath.

"Come on, no one cares about how you look." Junhui smirked at him.

A small pause followed as Minghao looked around him. Mingyu and Wonwoo were already in their undergarments, their tops exposed for all of them to see. Junhui was also half naked beside him.

Minghao gave a small side glance at the Chinese knight. His body was toned and muscled, but not as much as Mingyu's. His shoulders and back were wide, and his abs were clearly shown decorating his stomach. Minghao sighed in despair. Thank God for Wonwoo and his slim body. Not that he wasn't fit, he was a knight, but he sure wasn't as large as the other two.

Heaving a small sigh, the prince started unbuttoning his shirt shyly.

Junhui turned his back on him, giving him a sense of privacy as he worked on removing his pants as well. Another whistle followed and Junhui threw a wink towards Mingyu before walking towards the lake, dipping his feet inside. To everyone’s surprise, he immediately jumped back out.

"Ah, it's cold!" he cursed in Mandarin, causing a series of loud laughter to erupt.

"You're such a baby." Minghao snickered beside him, finally untangling the breeches from between his legs.

"Your one to talk, xiǎo bǎo." Junhui said, trying hesitantly to dip a toe in the water again.

Minghao flushed at the pet name. How dare he? He was neither small nor a baby. But revenge is a dish best served _cold_.

With quick movements, Minghao rushed behind the knight and pushed him forward and straight into the freezing lake.

Junhui yelped as he dove face first in the water. He swam a little further away before he emerged on the surface with a loud gasp.

"I hate you Xu Minghao!" he yelled, wrapping his arm around his torso in an attempt to warm up his body.

Minghao threw his head back in a loud laugh. "Don't worry you're hot enough to warm the water." he shouted back.

It took him precisely two seconds before he realized what he uttered, clasping his mouth with his hands.

"Hey, that's what I said about you yesterday." Mingyu nudged Wonwoo, who side eyed him.

Junhui burst out laughing in the middle of the lake.

"Oh my god, I'm never letting you live that down Haohao." he tried to breathe.

Minghao shook his head, cursing at his tendency to say stupid things when he was nervous. "Forget anything I said about sticking close to me. You can just let me drown." he said annoyed.

"You can't drown. You're practically still on the shore." Mingyu teased, snickering at his best friend.

Wonwoo patted him on the back. "Stop teasing him. Like you're any better." he said with a grin.

"Wonwoo." Mingyu whined.

Minghao’s eye caught Junhui swimming towards the shore. He looked like a wet cat, hair plastered all over his face as half of his body was still underneath the surface. Once he reached the prince he sat on his knees.

"You can't stay there forever." he said innocently.

"Watch me." Minghao crossed his arms in front of his chest, sitting down at the edge of the lake, water barely touching his bottom.

Junhui heaved an amused sigh. "All right then. You can sit there on your own." he said and turned his back on Minghao before swimming away.

"Oh no, you won't!" Mingyu seemingly came out of nowhere, using his large palm to gather some water, splashing the prince right on the face.

"Mingyu!" Minghao shouted, standing up half drenched. "That's it, you're dead." he threatened and started walking closer to Mingyu forgetting about the water that surrounded him.

"Oh yeah? Let's see how you can reach me at the deep parts of the lake!" Mingyu replied and tried to float away.

Minghao quickly reached him though, still able to walk in the water. He grabbed the footman from the ankle, pulling him towards himself before he pushed on Mingyu's chest, lowering him beneath the water. Mingyu left a muffled scream, making bubbles appear on the surface. Minghao then stepped on him, keeping him under the water. He also jumped on his chest a few times for good measure.

“What? Did you say something Mingyu? I can’t hear you!” the prince said, looking down.

Then two arms were snaked quickly around his waist as Junhui’s voice echoed in Minghao’s ear.

“Yah, what are you doing?” he chided, lifting him away from the footman, who resurfaced coughing.

"Let me go!" Minghao slapped Junhui's arms, trying to free himself before it was too late and he was dragged too deep.

"Don't let him go!" Mingyu screeched, desperately trying to swim away.

Junhui was faster though, and before long, Minghao’s feet could no longer touch the bottom. "What was that Haohao? Want me to let go?" he asked sweetly.

"No, don't let go!" Minghao shouted again, clutching at Junhui’s forearms fervently.

"Yes, let him go!" Mingyu said from further away, not daring to reach the deeper area without support.

"Shut up Mingyu!" Minghao shouted with a high-pitched voice. "Junhui I swear, if you even think about leaving me, I'm never trusting you again! Get me outside, I didn't agree to this!" he said urgently.

"Hey, hey calm down." Junhui said to him softly turning him around so he could face him.

Unconsciously, Minghao wrapped his arms around Junhui's shoulders.

"I can't calm down, don't move me around! Just get me out!" he said, panic slipping in his voice.

This was not fun anymore.

"Minghao stop shouting for a second and try to breathe." Junhui instructed.

Minghao gulped. He didn’t have much of a choice. He safety was depending on Junhui’s playfulness, so he closed his mouth and started taking deep breaths.

"I won't let you go, alright? I'm here, you can trust me." he mumbled softy in Mandarin, tightening his grip around the prince’s body.

"I hate you so much." Minghao almost whimpered, willing his trembling muscles to calm down. Minghao knew that this was necessary. He needed to stop being scared of the deep, but it wasn’t easy.

He rested his forehead on Junhui's shoulder, trying to block out the view of the water all around him. _We're not that far from the shore. Junhui won't let me drown. It's safe_ , he repeated in his head, until he started breathing again, albeit shakily.

He was not going to have a panic attack, at least he was certain of that. Small miracles.

As he tried to even his breath his eyes fell on the knight’s bicep. A thin bandage was wrapped neatly around the sculped muscle. _The wound from yesterday_ , Minghao thought. Wonwoo indeed forced Junhui to treat it this morning. And Junhui listened? That was new. 

"I know you hate me, but I won't let you drown Minghao. I'm not like that." Junhui voiced, bringing the prince back from his thoughts. He then started tracing small circles at Minghao’s spine, fingers barely touching his skin as he started humming lightly under his breath.

Minghao focused all his attention on Junhui's voice. It was a great distraction from the image of the bottomless pit underneath him, ready to swallow him if the knight let go.

 _He won't let you go. Focus,_ Minghao mentally chided himself. It was only then that the prince realized how close their bodies were. He could practically feel the vibration of Junhui's throat against his own torso. That immediately made him come back to his senses.

"Alright." he said, lifting his head and loosening his death grip as much as he could. "Teach me how to get out without drowning now."

Junhui eyed him carefully for a moment, before he laughed under his breath.

"Alright. It's simple really." he started as he guided them on a part that Minghao could touch the bottom.

He let him slide down slowly, until his toes touched the sand underneath. Minghao detach himself from Junhui's embrace as fast as he could, moving to his side instead.

"First step, learn how to float." Junhui continued and leaned back, spreading his limps as he calmly stayed on the surface.

Minghao scanned him with a quick glance before attempting to mimic him. He relaxed his upper body and arms and leaned back, hesitantly lifting his legs. He was scared out of his attempt though as Mingyu, finally managing to swim there, appeared next to him.

"Hey, are you okay? Did you panic again?" he asked worried.

"I don't want to talk to you now. Go float somewhere else." the prince huffed, half angry and half joking as he stepped up again, facing his friend.

Mingyu pouted. "I want to practice with you, though." he said. "And Wonwoo doesn't allow me to walk in the water, it will take me ages to go anywhere else without drowning."

"Because you have to learn how to float Mingyu." Junhui pointed the obvious, still relaxing unbothered on the surface with his eyes close.

"But I _can_ float. It's the moving around I struggle with." the footman admitted.

"Well, I can't float yet, so if you'd let me practice, I'd be grateful." Minghao said, attempting to lean back again.

With that, Junhui stood up, shaking the water off his head. Minghao could feel his eyes glued on him as he attempted to lay back again, only for him to return on his feet right away.

"You have to raise your waist as well otherwise it will take you to the bottom. Lay back." Junhui advised.

Minghao bit the inside of his cheek and took a deep breath, before making contact with the water. He carefully detached his feet from the bottom and raised his legs. But as soon as he started to relax a little, Minghao felt a palm under the small of his back, lifting his waist up.

"Woah!" he flailed, grounding himself again. "What are you doing?" he glared at Junhui.

"I'm trying to help you relax." the knight rolled his eyes.

"Wonwoo held my hand at this part." Mingyu piped up from their side. "Let him keep you still Minghao, it helps to know that you won't drift off by accident."

Minghao eyed Junhui skeptically. Junhui was not Wonwoo, and even though Minghao trusted him to not _actually_ let him drown, he didn’t trust him with everything before that.

"I don't know Mingyu..." he trailed off. "I think I-"

"Hey how's it going?" Minghao was cut off by Wonwoo slowly approaching them.

"Hey!" Mingyu’s attention was immediately diverted. He slid his arm around Wonwoo's waist and brought him close to his body, disregarding the rule about not touching the bottom of the pond. If Wonwoo noticed, he didn’t make a comment.

"Minghao is being stubborn. Can you hold him up so he can float, love?" Mingyu kissed his cheek, distracting him further.

"I thought I left Junhui to help with that." Wonwoo eyed his friend.

Junhui just shrugged, making the prince scoff under his breath. Surely the knight couldn’t expect Minghao to be so comfortable with him after that little stunt he had pulled?

"I don't need help." he declared as he leaned back once again.

This time he managed to lift every part of his body from the ground out of pure spite. Minghao felt proud of himself. He was still struggling a bit to balance properly, but he had succeeded. And that mattered more.

"See? I’m perfectly capable of doing it on my own." he bragged. 

Bizarrely, Junhui let out a sigh that seemed more disappointed than anything else. He quickly shook his head though, bringing back his smirk.

"I want to see you swim back here." he taunted.

"What?" Minghao lifted his head and noticed that the distance between himself and his friends was increasing as the current slowly led him away. "Wait!" he shouted and tried to put his feet on the ground. He barely reached it though, causing bubbles to leave his mouth.

Immediately two hands grabbed him and resurfaced him. Minghao coughed the water that went to his lungs as he grabbed the other person.

"Are sure you don't need help?" Junhui's voice echoed in his ears.

The prince wrapped his arms around Junhui's arm. "Ugh, stupid water." he spat with a deep frown.

"Yeah, blame the water now." the knight rolled his eyes.

"But it's its fault. Why is it so unstable?" he whined, eyeing the liquid evilly.

"It's water Minghao, it its nature to be like that." Junhui laughed as he took them back to the couple.

Mingyu was floating peacefully again, with Wonwoo holding his hand. At least he seemed to have mastered that. Wonwoo was staring towards them with an expressionless face. He did crack a grin though at Minghao’s sulky face.

"Can I hold you while you float now or are you going to get pissy again?" Junhui tapped Minghao's temple.

"I don't want to float. I want to swim." Minghao said, pulling back to face the other.

Junhui looked him in the eyes and then sighed.

"You’re impatient and you are going to fail at this miserably. But sure, let’s do it," he shrugged, letting Minghao go again.

Wonwoo tugged Mingyu up to listen as well.

"Try thinking of swimming like you want to reach something that is right before you, but it keeps getting away. You have to spread your hands forward like this." Junhui said, swimming a few meters away and back again for demonstration.

"Then use your feet to kick the water so you can move forward. You can actually get your revenge against this unstable water." the knight laughed at Minghao's pouty face.

Minghao bit back any retort that was tangled on his lips and went a few meters back, so he wouldn't reach to deep before trying to mimic Junhui. He pushed the bottom with his toes, giving a small urge to his body to move forward and spread his hands in front of him.

To his dismay, he just sunk to the bottom of the lake, small bubbles appearing around him. He put his feet to the ground and resurfaced, spitting the water he had swallowed.

"Not a word." he glared at Junhui, who was looking at him with a smirk.

"Might I add.” Wonwoo spoke, “You should keep your head above your shoulders in the beginning. Don't be afraid to be parallel to the ground, it will be harder to sink if your legs are up." he advised

"Thank you Wonwoo." Minghao smiled at the knight.

"Hey." Junhui frowned.

"Thank _you_ for almost drowning me." Minghao told him with a huff. He instantly regretted his words though as he saw Junhui's face falling slightly.

"Well I didn't expect you to put your head under the water." he murmured, no emotion in his voice.

Minghao averted his eyes, trying to swallow down the sudden guilt that washed over him. Since when could Junhui of all people make him feel guilty? He decided to give swimming another try instead of apologizing.

Taking Wonwoo's advice, he kept his head and legs higher than before, and this time he didn't immediately sink. Maybe with a few more tries he could keep afloat while moving, like Mingyu had been trying all morning.

Speaking of his friend, Wonwoo had grabbed Mingyu's hands and he was pulling him around the shallow part of the lake, while Mingyu was kicking the water with his legs, trying to find the proper movement.

 _Wonwoo would make a great teacher,_ Minghao thought, only a little jealous.

"You know, you can try with Wonwoo if you want. I can ask him." Junhui spoke from the prince’s side.

Minghao merely sighed. "No. I've got this." he insisted, getting ready for another attempt.

He tried to focus on his body and follow both Wonwoo's and Junhui's instructions. He started again with the slight kick of his legs before spreading his arms, keeping his head high. And this time it worked! No bubbles and no sinking. Minghao succeeded on moving a few meters by _actually_ swimming.

"I did it!" he yelled excited, throwing his hands on the air.

"No way!" Mingyu yelled back, letting go of Wonwoo to frown at the prince. "I've been trying all morning!"

"Apparently, you're not as talented and clever as I am." Minghao said and stuck his tongue out.

"Try going a bit further." Wonwoo urged the prince. "Don't be afraid."

"Alright, alright." Minghao obeyed and tried again and again and after a couple of hours both him and Mingyu could finally swim.

It wasn’t as bad as Minghao had originally thought, definitely not something to be afraid of. Minghao could even admit it was enjoyable. For the first time in years the young prince felt that he had accomplished something new and useful. Something that would finally help him in his life, not just in theory but also in praxis.

~*~

But swimming except from fun, was also really tiring. So after their long lesson, the company decided to simply chill out a little more inside the clear waters. They were lazily sloshing around, making conversations or playing with the water.

"I love this lake." Mingyu declared, floating peacefully. That seemed to be his favourite part of the whole swimming process. "I'm not getting out of here until my hands wrinkle."

"You're not far from that love." Wonwoo snickered together with Junhui as they were leaning on some rocks close to the waterfall’s bubbling waters.

Mingyu hummed.

"It feels like we have been in here forever. Last night too, we didn't get out until-" he quickly stopped himself, clasping a hand over his mouth.

Junhui's head turned to Wonwoo with a smirk. "Last night huh?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Don't worry, at least we cleaned up." Mingyu approached the other, cockily putting an arm around Wonwoo's shoulders

Wonwoo face palmed while Junhui made a disgusted noise sticking his tongue out. He quickly returned to reality though, his eyes scanning around the rest of the lake.

"Guys? Where's Minghao?" he asked.

Mingyu’s eyes followed Junhui’s line of vision. Indeed, the skinny figure of his friend was nowhere to be found.

“Minghao?” Wonwoo’s voice echoed loudly.

"Watch out below!" they heard a yell from above.

With the sound of the yell, three heads looked up. Mingyu's mouth dropped as he saw the prince on the edge of a rock next to the waterfall, a few meters above them. Before anyone could react though, Minghao jumped feet-first straight to the deep end of the lake. He landed with a loud splash, drenching the others.

"Oh my god!" Mingyu exclaimed, grabbing his cheeks.

To his surprise, Junhui was the one to dash off in seconds, running towards the spot where the prince had dived. Minghao hadn't shown up yet, and that made a really anxious frown settle on his face.

"Minghao. Minghao!" Junhui shouted.

Wonwoo began approaching as well, but before he could reach them, Minghao emerged and shook the water out of his head with a smile.

"I did it!" he grinned brightly at Junhui.

Junhui looked at him shocked. Mingyu just clicked his tongue disapprovingly. He wasn't impressed about Minghao's risky action, he knew how his best friend acted when he was aware that he was good at something. The footman was more in shock with Junhui’s worry for the prince, that appeared as soon as the other hit the water. Was he becoming attached to Minghao? Unlikely.

Junhui's panic was seemingly cut when the prince, not having perfected his swimming skills, got too tired of trying to stay afloat and started making bubbles again. The knight just sighed and scooped Minghao in his arms again.

"That was so dangerous." he chided, shaking his head.

"It was amazing!" the prince said happily. "I had to somehow get rid of that stupid anxiety." he said a bit quieter, clutching Junhui's shoulders again.

Junhui arched him an amused eyebrow and laughed under his breath.

"You sure found a pretty risky way to do it." he voiced.

"And y'know... Now that I'm good again..." Minghao said, turning his head the other way. "Sorry for before. I was... a bit ungrateful, I guess?" he added.

The knight's eyebrows reached his hairline. Mingyu’s too. Did just Minghao, his best friend Minghao, apologise to Junhui? Well that was something new.

"It's alright. Don't worry much." the knight brushed it off with a smile, before the two fell in a small conversation.

Mingyu, still watching them from the sidelines, snickered. "Is it just me, or are they touching a lot today?"

Wonwoo gave him a side glance, a smirk decorating his lips. "Do you prefer them stuck on each other’s' throats?" he asked.

"I would prefer if they acted normal for once. I've never seen two people struggling to communicate so much." Mingyu shrugged, leaning against a rock.

The pressure of the water from the waterfall hit his back, relaxing his sore muscles from the horse riding. Wonwoo seemed to enjoy the pressure as well, having not moved from his spot for a long time. Mingyu reached out his hand, gently touching his side, tracing the bruise.

"It's a lot better in case you're wondering." Wonwoo offered a shy smile as Mingyu kept caressing the purple mark. "And don't mind them too much. You knew from the start that their relationship would be weird."

As soon as he said that, Minghao dunked Junhui's head underwater, escaping his hold and clumsily trying to return to the shallow on his own. He had a wild grin on his face that wasn't there before. It was only because Mingyu knew him for years that he understood he was much more relaxed than he had ever been. Wonwoo though still looked worried about him, ready to approach at any minute the prince may needed help.

"Why are you worrying so much? You know that Junhui hyung won't let any harm happen to Minghao. Weirdly enough he feels responsible. So, stop looking like an overprotective mother hen." Mingyu laughed and pinched Wonwoo's cheek.

Wonwoo looked at him and let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Me? A mother hen? Respect your hyung, Kim Mingyu!" he said and splashed him with water.

It took Mingyu by surprise, causing him to shallow a large amount of the attacking liquid. He wheezed a little, coughing the water out.

"Oh no you don't." he said and ran towards Wonwoo, dragging by the waist down.

Wonwoo managed to giggle and grab Mingyu's hair before they were both completely enveloped in water. For a moment, all their senses were dulled. Cold was the only thing they felt the crashing sound of the waterfall echoing in their ears. Then Mingyu angled his head and slotted their lips together.

The sensations returned to his body, the heat under their skins where their arms were wrapped around each other, growing more intense. Wonwoo's sleek hair floated between Mingyu’s fingers and his soft mouth touched his lips, careful not let any water in. The footman felt out of breath both because of the lack of oxygen and his bubbling emotions.

When Mingyu felt the need to breathe again, he resurfaced them, clutching Wonwoo near his body. They were both dripping wet and out of breath, but the smiles were permanent on their faces.

"Have I ever told you how hot you look when you're wet?" Mingyu whispered.

"Show me." Wonwoo breathed and kissed him again, making him groan.

"Oh my God! My eyes!" Minghao's voice sounded.

"Get a room you two. Spare us the sight!" Junhui added.

Mingyu chuckled in the kiss but Wonwoo, always the shy one, hid his face on the footman’s neck, bright red in embarrassment. Mingyu rubbed his side comfortingly.

"Don't worry you're going to grow up and find someone to love one day too." the footman said patronizingly to the other two.

"No thank you very much." both Minghao and Junhui said at the same time causing them to look at each other after.

"You might not have to look very far for it." Mingyu rolled his eyes.

Minghao made a gagging noise before splashing water on his face.

"I don't know what's that supposed to mean, but I don't really want to figure it out either." Junhui voiced.

"Alright, alright I get it." Mingyu lifted one hand up, the other still holding Wonwoo. "Look at my fingers. I look like a wrinkly sponge. I'm going out." he announced.

The other three laughed.

"Well you should make some food anyway." Minghao said.

Mingyu huffed. "Of course. I'm not allowed to kiss my boyfriend, but I'm supposed to prepare you food." he said but walked out of the water and towards their food supplies anyway.

"You're our only option Mingyu. You're the talented one at that field." Minghao snickered.

"I'm talented at every field." Mingyu bragged with a smirk.

"Except maybe sword fighting." Wonwoo piped up with a shy smile and Mingyu turned to gape at him betrayed.

"Excuse me. If I remember correctly, the last time we had a lesson I defended myself pretty good." he huffed.

"Junhui get some bread. This is going to be fun." Minghao smiled.

Junhui threw him an amused look, pretending to take a slice of bread and eating it.

"Of course, you did love, I am a great teacher after all." Wonwoo chuckled as an answer.

"I know. But I'm also a great student. You can't deny that." Mingyu said again, crossing his hands in front of his chest.

Minghao's and Junhui's heads were turned towards the other knight waiting for the upcoming answer.

"Well, you are a bit clumsy." Wonwoo continued the teasing.

The two heads turned again.

Mingyu left out a shriek. "How can you betray me like that? You're my boyfriend." he said and hit his heel on the grass like a five-year old child.

Wonwoo laughed and got out of the water to go and hug Mingyu. And just like that, Mingyu’s goofy smile returned. Yeah, he was whipped, he couldn’t deny it anymore.

"Boooo." Minghao shouted, still inside the lake. "You can't even argue properly." he said.

"Well the good thing is that Wonwoo is walking fine again." the knight commented.

Honestly those two…

“You’re going to stay inside for how long exactly? I thought you were hungry.” Mingyu crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Minghao heaved a sighed. "He is right. Let's get out too. We have to eat." he said and walked towards the shore with Junhui following close behind him.

~*~

Later that day, the sun was setting over the small village that was the closest to the big town of Gisa. The town was preparing for the night, shops closing and the only inn filling up. It was at that time when a lone rider entered the village. He marched slowly towards the two men that were sitting in front of the inn.

"Good evening." Jihoon said, disembarking from his horse.

"Oh, look at that, another visitor with a horse." one of them voiced. The other just hummed as he was still looking between them at a board of Baduk.

"Another?" the general questioned once he was right in front of them. "Have four men with black hoods passed from here?"

"Lots of travelers appeared suddenly. Do you believe something happened?" the first man asked.

"What could happen in a town like Gisa though? Everyone there live like kings." the second replied, slowly placing another stone at the board.

Jihoon arched an eyebrow at the zero interest the two old men were showing him. It was like he didn't stand half a meter away from them. Still, they chose to pretend that he didn't exist.

"Well you never know. We haven't heard solid news about Gisa's affairs in years." said the first one and stared at the board, thinking about his next move.

Jihoon coughed politely to get their attention. "Excuse me, I need some information." he said.

But the two men remained silent, clearly too focused on their game. After a minute, the second man started laughing at the other’s distressed face.

"Ran out of moves I see." he teased and the other eyed him.

Jihoon leaned down, observing for a second before he placed a black stone in an offensive spot, substantially expanding the losing man's territory. His opponent was blocked from making any other moves.

"Ha! Look at that!" the first man exclaimed.

"Hey this is unfair. How did you even do that?" the second said, glaring at the general.

"This game is for kids. Real battle strategies are much more complicated." Jihoon replied coolly. "I need information." he repeated.

The men eyed him skeptically.

"What do you possibly want to know from two old men?" the first one asked.

"Have four hooded men passed through here? They had horses with them. One was foreign." Jihoon explained.

"No. I don't recall that. Have you seen something like that?" the old man asked his companion.

"Not that I recall. There is no way we wouldn't have noticed them the way you described them, young man." the other confirmed.

"What about other travelers you spoke of?" Jihoon asked.

"Hmm now that you mention it, they were two travelers here two days ago. And they indeed had horses." the second man said.

"Can you describe them to me?" the general requested.

Had the company split up? Were they under disguise? Had they shed their cloaks? Where were they headed? Jihoon's head was filled with possible questions.

"One was skinny and tall, he had black hair. The second was more built up and a bit taller than the other. They were both wearing dark clothes and boots." the first old man answered.

"One of them did have an accent, now that I think about it. They said they were foreigners, making a last stop before going to Gisa." the second added.

Jihoon hummed under his breath. The descriptions sounded like prince Minghao and most likely the Chinese knight Wen Junhui.

"Did you, maybe see what they were doing here?" he asked again, trying to figure out the plan that the four had in mind.

"They went to lady Jiyoo's shop. They made quite an impression." the first man chuckled.

 _An impression?_ Jihoon wondered.

"Where is that shop exactly?" the general said his patience running thin.

"It's the hut that says 'supplies shop' on it. I don't think even someone like you could miss it." the second man laughed.

Jihoon tried really hard not to draw his sword and cut the man's beard there and then. Instead he bowed politely and left them be. He took the reins in his hand and started walking towards the hut that the two old men pointed.

When he reached there, he tied his mare on a tree and entered the small shop. Jihoon looked around, noticing that this was one of the places that sold a wide variety of things, from cloths to food. Dust was covering most of the objects, giving the place a scent of 'old'. Jihoon walked straight to the back of the shop, where the cashier was located. The middle-aged woman smiled upon seeing him.

"You're a little late young man, aren't you? I'm about to close down." she spoke sweetly.

"I'm afraid I didn't come to buy things ma’am. More like I wanted to ask you a few questions." Jihoon said with a tight smile.

"Questions? What type of questions? Where are you from or who's your family?" the lady said pursing her lips.

"No, ma’am don't worry. I'm looking for two men that visited your shop about two days ago. The one was thin and had average height and the other was tall and foreign. Have you seen them?" Jihoon tried.

The lady narrowed her eyes. "Why are you looking for those people?" she asked.

Jihoon arched an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But I can ensure you that I won't hurt them." he said.

"Young man, you must be aware that we don't get many visitors in this village. For so many of you to have appeared in such little time it must mean something has happened. You didn't buy anything and you're asking suspicious questions. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave." the lady said strictly.

Jihoon raised his eyebrows in shock. Did an old lady just kick him out? Did she even know who he was? Jihoon sighed. Of course, she didn't. If she knew that he was the freaking general of Gisa she would have answered his questions immediately.

But who was Jihoon trying to fool? He couldn't reveal that to anyone. They would become suspicious of the situation. The last thing Jihoon wanted was for the villagers to become curious in him and his mission. So he swallowed his pride, bowed as an apology and exited the small shop.

When he reached his mare, he saw that children were gathered all around it, trying to climb to its neck and pulling its tail. The poor horse was not reacting. If it wasn't trained as well as it was, those kids could have been severely hurt by now.

"Yah!" Jihoon shouted at the children. "Go away!"

The four kids looked at him but instead of running away they came closer to him.

"Hello sir. Is this yours?" a small boy, with one of his front teeth missing, asked with eyes full of curiosity.

"Uhh yes." Jihoon answered, clearly not expecting that reaction.

Why weren't the kids scared away? Probably because he wasn't wearing his armor. Jihoon found himself at a dead end. He didn't know how to talk to children that weren't afraid of him.

"It's so beautiful! Is it a boy or a girl?" a girly voice sounded after.

"Uhhh a girl. She... She wouldn't appreciate getting her tail tugged though. Don't do it." he tried to explain.

The kids awed.

"We're sorry sir. But we don't see horses here much. And yours is so well groomed." an older boy spoke politely.

Jihoon just wanted to disappear. But that one last kid seemed decent. Could he… possibly humor them for a while? ... It was what Soonyoung would have done if he was there.

"You can pet her neck if you want. She enjoys that. But be careful not to be rough. She feels pain too, you know." he instructed, walking towards his raven mare.

The kids followed behind him. Jihoon approached the animal and started stroking her neck and upper leg gently. She was a bit shaken from the children but she didn't show it, just like her owner. The kids started petting her as well mimicking Jihoon's soft movements. Suddenly Jihoon heard a small yelp. He turned his head quickly but relaxed when he saw his mare's head nuzzling the small boy's cheek.

"She likes you." he said, smiling unconsciously.

"I like her too! Can I have her?" the young boy asked and Jihoon had to force his irritated glare out of his face.

Those children grew up with practically nothing. It was only reasonable they wanted things that didn't belong to them.

"If you want a horse young man, you have to earn it." he said patiently.

"And what should we do sir?" the other boy asked.

"We must be knights silly!" the third one piped up.

Jihoon perked up at that. "Do you want to be knights when you grow up?" he asked.

"Yes sir! I really do! I have a sword you know." the boy said enthusiastically and showed Jihoon a small hand-made, wooden sword.

"Wow, that's a great sword! How old are you, young man?" Jihoon crouched down to get on eye level with the boy.

"I'm five sir!" the boy answered happily.

"You know, when you're eleven, you can go to Gisa and start training to be a knight." Jihoon told him and the boy's eyes widened.

"I want to be a knight too! My mom doesn't let me have a sword, but I can beat people up!" the only girl in the little group gave a small punch at Jihoon's shoulder.

Jihoon turned at her.

"You sure are a strong one. But I haven't heard of a girl knight before." he said softly.

How much did Jihoon want Soonyoung to be there to see him. The steward would definitely be proud of him.

The girl faltered a little. She frowned and puffed her cheeks.

"So… I can't?" she asked.

She looked on the verge of tears. Jihoon started panicking.

"No little one. I didn't say that. You...um can become the... First girl knight. How about that?" he answered hastily.

The girl's mood immediately made 180 degrees turn.

"You hear that Ji?" she grabbed the other boy's arm. "I told you I would become a knight! Mister horseman says I can, so I will!" she said with a huge smile.

The boy frowned at her. "I will be better though." he grumbled, sticking his tongue out.

"No, I will!" the girl huffed.

Jihoon stood up again, not ready to deal with a kids' fight yet.

"Hey you two. What are your names?" he asked.

"I'm Park Jian and that's my little sister Mina." the boy answered proudly.

"I'll make sure to remember your names." Jihoon said and untied the reins from the tree’s trunk.

He climbed up his mare’s back and took a few steps away, making sure he didn't hit any kid.

"Take care, all of you. I expect to see you again one day." he winked at the two siblings, before he dashed off.

"Goodbye sir. Take care!" the small girl echoed and waved with the rest of the gang.

Jihoon smiled to himself. He didn't do so bad. He would have really liked to tell Soonyoung of his accomplishment. But it was unlikely that he would ever see him again, unless he somehow returned the lost prince back to Gisa.

With that though in mind Jihoon rode towards the North to find the four fugitives.

~*~

"So, where are we going next?" Mingyu questioned.

He was lying inside the tent with Minghao, refreshed and out of the clothes they wore from the day they escaped. The fabric wasn't as expensive and soft as the prince and the footman were used to, but it still felt more comfortable than any of the fancy clothes they had ever worn.

"I believe we should head more north, towards the mountains. But let's ask our knights for a better opinion." Minghao said, rising up with a groan.

"Waaait." Mingyu grabbed Minghao's waist, making him sit down again. "Let's just stay together a bit. Let's... Let's talk." he added, looking Minghao in the eyes.

Minghao smiled gently at his friend. Mingyu seemed so much better since they left the castle and solved his small problems with Wonwoo. His eyes were reflecting the love and happiness his heart felt. Minghao liked that.

"Alright then. Tell me what do you want" he said, sitting more comfortably.

"Honestly, I have so much on my mind that I think I'm going to bury them and that won't be good for my health." Mingyu laughed. "Like, the palace. Wonwoo. Our future. Wonwoo. Your reaction to the outside world. Wonwoo" Mingyu started counting.

"Wait, it wasn't clear enough, do you think about Wonwoo at all?" Minghao snickered.

"Oh come on Minghao stop teasing. You know I can't help it." Mingyu blushed.

"Do you remember the times we didn't even mention Wonwoo in conversations even once?" Minghao said thoughtfully. "Me neither." he then chuckled.

Mingyu pouted. "Do I speak about him that much?" he shyly asked.

"Yes, you do. But I wouldn't have it any other way." Minghao put an arm around his friend’s shoulders. "Now speak to me. Tell me everything you need."

The footman sighed.

"There is that particular thing I'm concerned about. Yes it has to do with Wonwoo, but I really need some advice." Mingyu mumbled, his face turning more serious.

"Since... you know... the prison... I can't stay away from him. If I have him out of my sight for more than ten minutes, I start worrying that something bad might have happened to him and I lost him." he explained.

Minghao hummed in understanding. "Why do you feel like this?" he asked, rubbing his friend's back.

"I have no idea, it's a bit complicated. I guess, it could be the aftermath of the near-death experience." Mingyu sighed. "Or maybe I love him too much? I don’t know"

Minghao hummed again. "It really sounds messed up. Going through something like what you and Wonwoo did can get you really attached to him. In relationships it's important to be independent, you know?" he said.

"I’m aware of that. It's not good to be together all the time. Neither for Wonwoo nor for me. We are our own persons. That's why I need yours and Junhui hyung's help." Mingyu sighed and looked at his friend.

"You'll have all the help you need. But the point isn't to be separated from Wonwoo yeah? He more than anyone can help you get over what happened in that cell. He feels it too, trust me." Minghao advised. "Try setting boundaries with him. Don't just fully accept whatever he does without thinking about it first. And don't let _him_ agree to everything you do. It will get pressuring for both of you." Minghao continued. "So my advice is this; separate whatever your consciousness really wants and what is being forced to your heart by the trauma. And do that to Wonwoo too."

“Well, the problem is that there’s nothing Wonwoo does that crosses my boundaries. Maybe only the fact that he doesn’t let me protect him, but I get that I’m not ready to be part of a real battle yet. Other than that… we agree on everything.” Mingyu said thoughtfully.

Minghao couldn't help but laugh a little again. It was amazing to see his childhood friend being so _whipped_.

"Seriously, how in the world did you manage to find your soulmate like that?" he said. "I don't know, maybe you could try building your trust a bit more? If you want to be able to protect him, learn sword fighting. Learn to work together with him, instead of just worrying about him."

Mingyu's lips stretched in a wide smile. He clearly liked that idea. "Well that sounds like a plan. I will get Junhui hyung to help me." he declared enthusiastically.

"Yeah, he is a great fighter." Minghao agreed.

A moment of silence. Then Mingyu’s head turned around, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Wait I-" Minghao tried to say but he was quickly cut by his fried.

"No! None of that! Something changed between you and Junhui hyung, don't try to deny that!" Mingyu almost shouted.

"Will you shut up already?" Minghao shushed him quickly, a blush burning the tips of his pointy ears.  
"Nothing changed. I still hate him." He then huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Woah, what's with that reaction?" Mingyu leaned in closer. "I didn't accuse you of anything. Yet."

"Mingyu! I’m warning you." the prince started, looking at his friend pointedly.

"Fine, whatever. I just find cool the idea that you might actually be friends one day, that's all." he shrugged. "It was fine if you only tolerated him because of us before, but this can't work for long. We only have each other now."

Minghao sighed and looked at him. "I know. I can assure you that I'm past the tolerating part. We try to communicate properly now." he admitted.

"Well that's great to hear." Junhui suddenly popped his head inside the tent, making both friends scream and hug each other.

"See, I told you I would scare them." Junhui snickered as Wonwoo popped his own head inside, chuckling as well.

"Stupid Junhui!" Minghao threw a piece of fabric at the knight's head, his own face flushed in embarrassment.

Mingyu started laughing while Wonwoo shook his head. "What are you two doing in here?" the knight asked.

Mingyu immediately pulled him in from his shoulders, sitting him in his lap.

"Nothing specific. We were just talking. What are _you_ doing in here, hm?" he asked playfully.

"We came to discuss about our next destination." Wonwoo answered.

"Oh nice. We actually wanted to talk to you about it too." Minghao agreed. "Did you study the map we bought Wonwoo?"

"I did. I must say that I don't know anything about any place. My knowledge for the land was up until the river. I've never been that far." Wonwoo made a disclaimer.

Minghao nodded his head. “Can that cause us problems?” he asked only a tiny bit concerned.

“Not necessarily.” Wonwoo answered. “Now, Junhui and I had a conversation. We believe that it would be safer for us to head north towards the mountains. No knight has been that way, if I recall correctly." he said and took the map out.

Junhui joined the other three, sitting next to the prince. They all leaned towards the map Wonwoo was spreading in front of them.

"Right now, we are somewhere around here." the knight said, pointing at green place on the map. "If we head north through the mountains, we will avoid all kinds of villages and unpleasant meetings." he trailed a route with his thin finger upwards, tapping it on some triangles that represented the mountains.

Mingyu clutched his waist and nodded in approval. “Minghao proposed the same thing.” he informed the knight, brushing a strand of hair behind his boyfriend’s ear.

Junhui chuckled at Mingyu's immediate answer.

"So whipped." he whispered in Mandarin under his breath.

"Too whipped." Minghao agreed, trying to keep his lips from smiling.

Wonwoo placed a hand above Mingyu's and looked expectantly at the other two.

"Is there going to be any place we can re-supply from? Our food and water won't last for very long." the prince switched back in Korean.

"I think there's a small inn deep in the mountains. I've heard about it from a villager one time I was patrolling the docks. He said that it's really famous for its hot springs and it's hospitality." Wonwoo recalled. "We can refill there and stay for a few days to relax." he added.

"Hot springs?" Minghao perked up. "The ones you bathe in hot water outside?"

"Those ones." Wonwoo pointed at the prince and smiled wide.

"I've only ever read about them." Minghao clapped happily. "Can we please go there?" he asked the others.

The three of them looked at the young prince. Minghao looked back before clearing his throat in embarrassment. It was rare of him to ask something with so much excitement, he knew that much. But circumstances were different now. It was no longer needed for him to be serious and composed. Now he could freely enjoy everything with the smile and excitement of a twenty-year-old young man he was. 

"Of course, we will.” Wonwoo chuckled. “Alright then, anyone who doesn’t like the idea?” he asked then, only to be met with silence. “It’s decided then. Next station; hot springs." he declared.

"Yes, thank you Wonwoo!" the prince cheered. Then one more idea popped in his mind. "Hey, why don’t we make a list about places we want to visit. We have enough money for a while." he suggested.

“Sounds good, why not?” Wonwoo agreed with a nod.

"Oh me, me!" Mingyu said clapping his hands. "Since now we know how to swim, how about visiting the sea?" he proposed.

"That’s a really good idea. It is easier to swim in the sea, the salt helps with the levitation." Wonwoo said, turning his head to look at him.

"It is also easier to be swept by currents." Junhui added solemnly, placing a hand on the ground behind Minghao's back.

"For a beginner yes. But we are experts now. So I don't know what you’re talking about." Minghao said casually.

Junhui smirked at him. "Of course you are. I'm sorry I must have forgotten about it when you hugged me for dear life before." he said without bite in his voice.

Minghao's cheeks started becoming red. "So, when do we leave?" he asked ignoring Junhui's comment.

"How about tomorrow morning? It will get about around three to four days to reach the springs. The road up the mountains will be tough so we better begin our ride with the sunlight." Wonwoo continued, rolling the map.

"Yes sir." Mingyu said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Come on Mingyu, stop messing around and let’s go prepare dinner.” Junhui echoed as he stood up.

Mingyu narrowed his eyes at the knight. “And then you all wonder why we need to refill our supplies every week.” he said, making the other two laugh.

~*~

As the last rays of sun disappeared behind the trees, the four friends finally felt confident for their future. They were going to visit amazing places, fill their brains and hearts with beautiful pictures and memories. They would finally get to know the world. And there was nothing stopping them, not as long as they were careful not to run out of money.

Minghao was sitting peacefully in their tent, looking at his feet. His toes were touching the soft grass, sending a tingling sensation all over his body. Unconsciously, a smile grew on his lips. He could really get used to this feeling. The feeling of nature, triggering all his senses in the sweetest ways.

"Hey."

Minghao shot his head up at the sound of Wonwoo's voice.

"Hi." he greeted the knight sweetly.

"Can I sit with you? Mingyu sent me away because he wanted to discuss something alone with Junhui." the knight asked.

"Sure." Minghao patted the place next to him. "You don't have to ask me to sit with me when Mingyu sends you away. I like your company any time of the day."

"That's sweet." Wonwoo cooed, sitting beside the prince. "So." he started, "What's on your mind?"

Minghao looked to the ground, not really knowing how to answer that. It wasn't as easy for him to speak about his thoughts as it was for Mingyu.

"Nothing in particular." he said and awkwardly, plucking some grass from the ground. "What's on yours?"

"Nothing that Mingyu hasn't already told you." Wonwoo joked.

"It always feels like Mingyu does all the talking for both of us, doesn't it?" Minghao snickered.

"Well, tell me if I'm wrong, but we're the ones who don't express themselves properly. It's not Mingyu's fault." Wonwoo teased.

"Oh, shut up." Minghao elbowed him playfully. "Talking is overrated anyway."

"We can always communicate with smoke signals. It would be easier for both of us since it doesn't involve words." the knight continued jokingly.

"Shall we get Junhui to light the fire?" Minghao agreed.

"You want him to burn us?" Wonwoo asked almost seriously but then cracked up.

Minghao laughed as well. Wonwoo had a weird sense of humor, but it was refreshing. He was just so likable, with his serious face and his dorky personality. It made Minghao wonder how could there ever be a person like Bogum, who wanted to ruin his life.

"Hey," he decided to ask Wonwoo, "Don't answer if you don't want to, but why did this Bogum guy hate you so much?"

Wonwoo's face fell at the mentioning of that name, eyes darkening. But then he exhaled, seemingly willing his anger to die down. "To be honest I don't know. All started at the night when both Mingyu and I got suspended. Since then... Well since then, he decided he wanted to make our lives as bad as possible." Wonwoo explained.

"It doesn't make sense though. Why the sudden hatred?" Minghao questioned. "To follow you all the way to the old hospital... Why didn't he just report that you were illegally exiting the palace? It is weird."

"I guess he wanted us as far away as he could send us. Even if that meant the underworld." Wonwoo answered.

Minghao saw that the knight's face has started becoming gloomy. It was such a drastic change from his bright mood when they were joking around. Minghao wanted to bring his smile back. After all, Wonwoo had been through a lot, he deserved to be as happy as possible.

"Imagine his face when he found out we escaped." Minghao smirked, throwing an arm around Wonwoo's shoulders.

Wonwoo smiled a little at that.

"Did Junhui tell you that he almost chocked the guy to death?" Minghao continued.

"He did?" Wonwoo looked up surprised.

"Yeah. So don't worry. We've all got your back now." Minghao smiled sweetly.

Wonwoo looked at his feet.

"It will sound sappy and all, but I'm really glad that I have you in my life now. Mingyu, Junhui and you. Thank you so much." the knight said with a small tight smile.

"Aww." Minghao cooed, wrapping both his hands around Wonwoo and pulling him in a hug. "I'm glad to be sharing this adventure with all of you too." he agreed.

Minghao wasn't usually a touchy person, but this day had left him feeling a bit more emotional than usual. It was harder to keep his cool face now that he was outside the palace, when he faced new challenges daily. And because Wonwoo was injured from the beginning, Minghao felt extra protective of him.

"Even Junhui?" Wonwoo said cheekily.

Minghao nodded silently. This was the last turn he wanted their conversation to take. "Junhui is our guard. He protects us while we sleep, so he is necessary." he replied light-heartedly.

"You talk about him like he is a piece of furniture." Wonwoo laughed.

"Intelligence wise, he might as well be." Minghao said, trying to keep a straight face.

Wonwoo shot him an unamused look but then burst out laughing. "Come on Minghao. You know that this isn't the case at all." the knight said.

Minghao sighed, his smile not leaving his face. "I know, I know. I'm just kidding." he said and scooted further inside the tent.

"You know. You make a pretty good team with Junhui." Wonwoo said, lying on his back beside Minghao's legs.

"I doubt it." Minghao immediately denied.

"No wait, just think about it for a second. You're the brain and he is the brawn. You function perfectly together." Wonwoo explained.

"You've been reading too many books Wonwoo." Minghao flicked his forehead playfully.

"That's true. But come on, just think about it." Wonwoo laughed and rubbed his forehead.

"No." Minghao said stubbornly.

"But-"

"No!" the prince laughed and laid down as well.

Wonwoo sighed. "You're so stubborn." he huffed.

"People tell me so." Minghao pinched his arm.

"I wonder why..." the knight rolled his eyes.

"Come on, don't be mean." Minghao pinched him again.

Wonwoo propped himself on his elbow looking at the prince. For a flash of seconds, something shifted on his eyes and then an evil grin appeared on his face.

"I wonder..." he trailed and extended a finger out, poking the prince’s ribs.

"No!" Minghao slapped his hand away, folding his arms around his chest protectively.

Wonwoo snickered and lifted himself on his knees, making grabbing hands as he leaned in Minghao's space.

"Minghao...?" he snickered evilly.

"No, go away, I'll call Mingyu!" the prince tried to scoot as far away as the small tent allowed.

"Mingyu won't hear you though." Wonwoo said and approached his hands closer to Minghao's ribs.

"Mingyuuuu!" Minghao screamed. 

But it was too late. The rest of his sentence got tangled in his throat as Wonwoo began tickling him. He started laughing and wheezing, as he tried kicking Wonwoo off of him without hurting his side. Impossible.

"Mingyuuuuu!" he shrieked in a choked voice again. "Heeeelp!"

"What the hell is going on in here." Junhui's voice was sound and not longer than a second later the Chinese appeared.

"Junhui!" Minghao cried between fits of laughter. "Get him off!"

The knight looked at scene in front of him, standing in his spot for a moment. But after a rather pained wheeze that escaped Minghao’s lips, he snapped out of it. With a chuckle he grabbed Wonwoo, careful not to hurt him and detached him from the prince.

"Hey now you two. Enough already." he laughed under his breath.

"He asked for it." Wonwoo said, not sounding apologetic at all.

"I did not! It was your idea in the first place." Minghao shouted, trying to regain his breath.

"You kept pinching me!" Wonwoo argued.

Junhui rolled his eyes. "And I thought that someone was dying." he commented unamused.

" _I_ was going to die!" Minghao complained.

"And you're lucky that I heard you because your friend has been asleep since half an hour ago." Junhui sighed.

"That traitor. I knew he would abandon me at the moment I needed him the most." Minghao wailed dramatically.

"Don't blame him Minghao, he didn't get much sleep last night. Right Wonwoo?" Junhui smirked at the other knight.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Wonwoo said and looked away blushing.

" _Have I ever told you how hot you are?_ " Junhui said in a deep voice. " _Show me._ ” he added in a lighter, breathy one.

Minghao burst out laughing again.

"Shut up Jun." Wonwoo shouted, hitting the Chinese on the leg.

" _Shut up Jun!_ " Minghao imitated him in a fake deep voice.

"Ouch, ouch." the Chinese knight let go of Wonwoo and grabbed his leg in pain.

"You two are terrible." Wonwoo whined.

"That's what you get for tickling Minghao." Junhui said ruffling the other's hair. "I'm going back outside. Try to get some sleep you two." he announced.

Minghao and Wonwoo looked at Junhui's retreating back. As soon as the Chinese was out of earshot, Wonwoo faced Minghao and with a finger on his temple he said; "I told you."

"I heard nothing." Minghao turned his back on him, refusing to listen.

"You can deny it all you want. But you can't refuse the fact that Junhui is always here when you need him. I have a personal experience." Wonwoo sighed and laid down again scooting closer to the prince.

"That's invalid. We're all here when we need each other, it's the only way our little escape can work. Junhui is no different." Minghao rested on his back, looking at the fabric of the tent above him.

Wonwoo heaved a sigh. "Whatever you say. You know best." he mumbled.

"Some people are there for you more than others though. Like when Mingyu so selflessly stayed with you when you had to stay awake last night~" Minghao grinned and looked at Wonwoo.

Wonwoo slapped his arm.

"Minghao! Not you too!" Wonwoo whined.

Minghao giggled and hugged the knight's arm.

"Just so you know, we all saw the mark this morning. You did realize that he was shirtless, right?" he asked with a giggle.

"Don't judge me. It was a moment I was waiting for all this time." Wonwoo admitted shyly.

"Aww." Minghao said again, leaning his head on Wonwoo's shoulder. "I don't get why people find your kind of relationship abnormal. The only way this is disgusting is because it's disgustingly sweet." Minghao voiced his thoughts.

Wonwoo blushed a deeper shade of red.

"I'm glad I hear that. It's a real relief that someone at least believe this isn't illegal." he whispered.

"And well, if I exist, and Junhui exists, there must be more people out there who think like us. Don't ever feel unloved, okay?" Minghao continued.

Wonwoo turned his head, looking deep in the prince eyes. Minghao knew that Wonwoo couldn’t express himself properly. The knight had said it many times. But if someone truly wanted to know what was going on in Wonwoo’s mind, a glance inside his eyes was enough. Everything was reflected there; the pain, the worry, the fear, the hesitation. Minghao could read it all.

"Thank you Minghao. For everything. If it wasn't for you and Junhui we wouldn't be here." the knight spoke then, nuzzling further in the prince's space.

Minghao sighed internally. "Stop saying thanks. All our conversations seem to end with you thanking me." he chided lightly. Then he draped an arm around the other. "Let's just sleep."

"Alright. Goodnight Minghao." Wonwoo said sweetly before closing his eyes.

"Good night." Minghao replied. "It is actually night this time." he commented with a smile.

Wonwoo laughed. "It really is." he said.

Minghao didn't want to continue talking. If he did, they would lose any hope of sleeping quickly and they needed the rest. He took a deep breath to get him out of the playful mood and throw him into sleeping mode. Wonwoo was warm beside him and it helped him relax. He always slept better when he was with other people.

As he relaxed, he found that his body was indeed tired. His mind trailed back to the swimming lessons. He had been so anxious in the beginning. Minghao was sure it wasn't just about the swimming itself. Maybe the nerves had been building up over the days and made him let it out during a time he struggled to learn something new.

If it wasn't for Junhui he might have given up on swimming altogether because of this. He thought back on how the other had calmed him down, after he dragged him to the deep part for the first time. Minghao recalled his humming, his arms around his waist and his own hand's around Junhui's shoulders. It was so embarrassing to think about it. It had felt... Safe? Was that the word he was searching for?

Junhui’s small ministrations made him feel safe for the first time after they had left the castle. And that took Minghao by surprise. He _was_ rude to him afterwards, but thankfully he had managed to apologize.

The prince kicked himself mentally. It wasn't good to remember the embarrassment now that he was trying to sleep. It would make his mind unable to calm down. He focused instead on that moment in the lake, the calm water rippling around him, his feet not touching the ground. He was safe at that moment. Everything was fine. It might have been because of Junhui, but still, he had felt fine in that moment. He kept that feeling in his mind until he slipped into the dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for today!!!!
> 
> And with that chapter the adventures of the four friend officialy starts!!!!
> 
> I hoped you liked this chapter and as always looking forward to ypur comments!
> 
> And now that I said comments; I really couldn't help but notice that some of our usual comment-writters didn't appear on the last chapter. I just hope that you guys are alright. Because we live in a really wild time right now, I got a little worried. So I really really hope you are completely fine❤️
> 
> With that I leave you.
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay warm and healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	17. I promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo guyyyss!!!!  
> Today is Saturday and you all know what that means, right!!???
> 
> Yes! One more chapter of Good Knight is out!!
> 
> No warning and no clarifications this time, so without any ado....
> 
> Enjoy~~~~

"Please do me this favour." a hushed voice was sound in the darkness.

It was late at night, the moon shedding light upon two lone figures, walking slowly as they talked in hushed voices.

"I'm listening." the other person said.

"Go with him. Follow him in secret. Become his shadow. Please." the one pleaded in despair.

"You want me to follow him all the way to god-knows-where? Are you serious?" the second voice sounded skeptical.

"I'm beginning you. I'm so worried about him. I can't sleep knowing he is alone. Please." the other begged again.

"Alright, alright, calm down." the man's companion voiced.

There was silence for a bit, the only sound being the whistle of the wind rushing through leaves of the tall, aged trees that surrounded them.

"I will follow him. But you should know, I have no idea about what I'm going to do when I find him."

"I just want him to be safe. That's all." the other sighed.

"Do you want me to tell him what's going on?" the second man voiced seriously.

"I will leave that to you. Do what you think it's the best." the first one answered.

"What I think is best is you forgetting all this. You're going to get into trouble if you continue digging around." the tall man warned, stopping in his tracks.

"You know I can't do that. I won't abandon him. Not now, not ever." the shorter voiced determined.

"You're crazy. You most likely won't ever see him again."

"I don't care. I just won't him to be safe." the other insisted.

The taller heaved a deep sigh at his companion's stubbornness. It was getting late and he had to leave before the sun rose. There was no time to waste if he wanted to follow that person. He needed to track him down.

"Will you be alright here?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm not alone, you know that." the shorter smiled for the first time since the conversation started.

"Still. If you ever feel like you're in danger, just get up and leave. Things are not going to be the same as before." the taller said, still serious.

"Don't worry about me. Neither about the little one. I'll take of everything." the other reassured.

"Okay then. I have to go. I hope I see you soon." the second man announced.

"Me too. Thank you for everything. I owe you a lot." the first said and hugged his friend.

It was late in that night, or early in the next morning, that the man set out on his quest, to track down the person his friend had instructed him to.

~*~

It was the third day of the long journey towards the hot springs, and the four companions had started getting tired. They had taken the path towards the North crossing thick forests, passing deep ravines and climbing tall, rocky mountains.

Wonwoo wasn't joking when he had said the road would be difficult. They rode kilometers after kilometers, barely sleeping through the nights, as there were no clearings they could comfortably set camp to. Exhaustion was radiating through all of them, matching nicely with the black circles under their eyes.

"I hope those hot springs are worth it." Mingyu said, stretching his arms above his head.

"I hope so too. I've never felt my back so sore before." Minghao whined.

"Poor horses. If we're tired, imagine what _they're_ going through." Mingyu patted his horse's head gently.

Minghao sighed tired. "They have so much patience with us." he praised, hugging his horse's neck.

Silence followed, only the sound of hooves echoing as they hit the rocky path they were walking on. But then out of nowhere, Junhui started humming a song. The faint notes twirled between the four of them, before they drifted away with the breeze.

Minghao recognized the tune. It a more upbeat version of the one he had sang to him back in the lake. His mind had associated that song with a happy memory, so he closed his eyes and listened as the Chinese kept on humming.

Junhui’s songs accompanied them all the way until they suddenly stumbled across a small rectangle sign. It was a little crooked, its rotten wood covered in moss as it read _'Jiyio’s hot springs'_ with faded letters. There was also an arrow underneath it, pointing towards a small path which stretched further inside a forest.

"Finally." Minghao sighed, his shoulders slouching.

"Oh dirt road, I didn't believe I would miss you so much." Mingyu exclaimed, making the two knights chuckle.

"Let's go then. We came all the way until here." Wonwoo said, entering the path first.

A couple of minutes later they found themselves in front of another clearing. It was no bigger than the one with the waterfall, surrounded by a vast variety of verdure too. The only exception was the presence of an inn, right next to where the trees begun sprouting again. Nothing much could be seen from the front. The place looked like a normal three-story, stone building.

Wonwoo got down from his horse, clutching his side a bit in discomfort, but not feeling any pain. Mingyu was next to him in minutes, stretching his long limbs and cracking his waist.

"Let's go inside. I need food, a shower and sleep. All three preferably with you." he winked to Wonwoo.

"And _I_ need a bucket because I'm gonna puke." Junhui commented jokingly, as he climbed down as well.

"We're all going to bath together." Wonwoo informed him. "The springs are public. That’s at least what the sign says.” he added, pointing the wooden sign above the doorway of the inn.

“Welcome to Jiyio’s public hot springs and inn.” Junhui read out loud.

"And I thought I didn't see enough of you naked already." Mingyu said, walking towards the porch.

"Oh please, don't pretend that you didn't love the sight." Junhui smirked.

"It depends on what sight you mean." the footman grinned, side hugging Wonwoo.

"Hey, can you focus for a bit?" Minghao clapped his hands, jumping down from his saddle. "Where are we going to leave the horses? I don't see any barns.”

“We can try asking inside.” Junhui proposed.

That… was rather reasonable? Minghao arched him a questioning eyebrow and the knight threw back a confused look.

“Did you just, no nevermind. Can two of you go inside and ask for information?" Minghao asked.

"Wonwoo shall we go?" Junhui spoke.

"Yes." the other knight agreed, handing his horse's reigns to Mingyu. "We'll be back." he added, walking towards the door with Junhui on toe.

~*~

The knights shuffled through the doorway, eyes scanning the place around them. Wood seemed to be the main material the inn was made of. The neatly decorated walls that stretched at their sides, the ceiling above their heads. Even the set of staircases at the back of the room, were all made out of some kind of timber, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The fireplace was also lit, adding a note of calmness in the air.

The two walked towards the reception table beside the stairs. An old lady was sitting behind the counter, patiently waiting for customers to show up. Wonwoo approached slowly, trying not to scare the poor woman and cleared his throat. The old lady opened her eyes and smiled at them.

"Good evening ma’am." Wonwoo said politely.

"Good evening. How may I help you?" she greeted back.

Wonwoo noticed that her accent, though still Korean, wasn't quite the same as the one people at Gisa had. It seemed like, the further to the north they traveled the more variety of languages they met.

"We would like a room to stay for a few days. We are four people in total. What do you have to offer us?" the knight asked.

"We have various rooms my dear, so it depends on what are you looking for.” the lady explained. “Do you all want to stay together? Are you with your ladies perhaps? Two double rooms would be the cheapest choice. You can also have four separate rooms, that will be the most expensive." she offered.

Wonwoo eyed Junhui. "What do you think?" he whispered.

"Normally, I'd go for cheapest. But I'm guessing I'll be sharing with Minghao and I'm not sure he'd like that." Junhui answered honestly.

"Okay, we can ask him and then decide. One more question please?" Wonwoo turned to the lady again.

“Of course dear.”

"Is there a place to leave our horses? Will it be charged extra?" Wonwoo questioned at which the lady nodded.

"There is a small stable at the back of the inn. Normally it's 5 silver coins per day but I will live to you because you're cute." the woman smiled.

Wonwoo smiled at her thankfully. "Thank you very much. Can we put our horses in the stable and then come book the rooms?" he asked.

"Sure. I will be here." she said, sitting back on hair chair.

Wonwoo and Junhui bowed politely and then exited the inn.

~*~

Minghao raised his head as soon as he saw movement with the corner of his eye. 

"So." Wonwoo said and clapped his hands exhaling. "We have good news and bad news.   
From where you want me to start?"

"Bad news."

"Good news."

Minghao and Mingyu said together.

"We will start with the good,” Junhui decided stepping a little forward. "There is a stable at the back that the nice auntie is letting us leave our horses for free." he said. "And that's because Wonwoo is cute." he smirked.

Mingyu frowned. "And the bad news?" he asked.

"The cheapest rooms for all four of us are the double ones." Wonwoo spoke.

"Well those are not bad new at all!" Mingyu's smile returned.

"Not for you. But for Minghao." Junhui said, giving a glance at the prince.

"Wait, are we staying together?" Minghao frowned.

Junhui nodded with a lopsided grin.

Minghao groaned. "Is this really our best option?" he asked.

"Well the next thing is to separate Mingyu an Wonwoo." Junhui shrugged.

"No." both Mingyu and Minghao said and Junhui nodded knowingly.

"That's what I thought." he said.

Minghao exhaled deeply. He was so, so conflicted. He didn't want to stay in the same room with Junhui for more than two hours. He didn't know if they could last without eating each other’s throats. On the other hand, he definitely didn't want to be the reason that Wonwoo and Mingyu couldn’t have time together. He eyed Junhui carefully. The knight was looking at the dirt road beneath his feet clearly also uncomfortable.

"Okay. Alright. We will do that." the prince voiced at the end.

Mingyu smiled and placed an arm around Wonwoo's shoulder.

"Great!" he said, bringing the other closer.

Minghao watched them and heaved a sad sigh. The sacrifices he made for his friendship. "You might want to tone that down as well for now." he said, gesturing at their closeness.

"He is right love." Wonwoo agreed, smiling sweetly at the footman’s pouty face.

"I hate this." Mingyu grumpily distanced himself from Wonwoo. "At least at night, I will have you all to myself." he said tracing his hand at the front of Wonwoo’s stomach, before detaching it completely.

"Too much information!" Minghao shouted and Junhui chuckled.

" _At least at night I will have you all to myself_." he repeated at Minghao in a mocking, deeper tone.

Minghao snickered under his breath and hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"Let's get going guys. Stop the teasing." Wonwoo said and started walking towards the back.

As the old lady had promised there was indeed a stable behind the inn. The four friends unloaded their bags, without taking the camp equipment for the first, and left their horses with a young stable boy. They young man cooed immediately at the four animals, shooting a bright smile at all of them. He clearly loved his job.

"And what brings you to our beautiful land." the stable boy asked them as he tucked away the horses.

"I wouldn't call the death road to here beautiful." Minghao muttered.

"I agree with you, the road is horrible I know. But the view from up here is totally worth the trip. It is not something that you see every day." the boy said. "By the way my name is Mingming." he introduced himself and looked towards Junhui, giving him a wide smile.

"Hi. I'm Junhui, and those are Mingyu, Wonwoo and Minghao." Junhui greeted him, pointing at each member of their little group. "Don’t mind me if I say that’s not a usual Korean name you have there." he commented.

"Yes. I'm originally from a small village outside of Zhanshi." Mingming explained.  
"I came here when I was really young with my grandma."

"Zhanshi huh? You come from a beautiful place." Junhui suddenly switched at Mandarin, smiling at the unexpected meeting of one of his own people.

Mingming's eyes widened in shock. "You're from China? Oh my God. I haven't spoken my mother language since my grandma's death." the boy said enthusiastically.

Minghao scrunched his face as he saw Junhui’s face fall. That was not something he thought they would meet. A Chinese boy around their age stuck in an inn deep in the mountains? Totally unexpected. And that accent? It way heavier than Minghao was used to hear.

"I'll be here for a few days. You can talk to me anytime you want." Junhui said sympathetically.

"Thank you. You are so kind." the Mingming grinned happily. "But I don't want to delay you. Go ahead and find your rooms. Your horses will be just fine with me here." he said politely switching back to Korean.

"My pleasure." Junhui replied. "See you around."

With that, the four friends trailed back to the inn.

"Junhui hyung made a friend!" Mingyu said, throwing an arm around the knight's shoulder.

"He is from my country. I became emotional." Junhui said shyly, turning his face away from the footman.

"He seemed nice." Wonwoo said and Mingyu side glanced him.

"You liked him?" he asked, a bit more seriously.

Wonwoo shot him a look.

"Come on Gyu don't tell me you're jealous of the stable boy." Junhui joked.

"No, of course not." Mingyu cleared his throat.

"Let's just get those rooms already. I want to go to the springs." Minghao urged them, walking faster.

They entered the inn again, this time all together walking towards the old lady behind the counter. Minghao eyed the room with curious eyes. It looked so cozy. He felt his body relaxing even though he hasn’t visited the springs yet.

"Hello again ma'am." Wonwoo greeted the old lady when they reached her counter.

"Welcome back dear. Did you decide on what you wanted? I see you brought company.” she said sweetly.

"Yes, we would like two double rooms, please." Wonwoo answered.

“Excellent. It will be two golden coins per night." the old lady informed before snatching two bronze keys from a shelf behind her. "Follow me please." She said, rounding the reception counter.

"This corridor over there leads to the springs." the lady pointed at a short corridor right before the staircase. "Now, about the springs; you are required to take a shower before entering. There are basins with warm water and soap right outside the ponds." she added and started climbing up the wooden stairs.

Minghao clutched Mingyu's shirt excitedly as they followed up. Their first station looked already so promising, that he couldn’t contain his … anymore.

The staircase led up to a long hallway. At its sides were doors equally apart from one another with small number signs on them. Old paintings decorated the walls and a couple of big vases stood proud beside the doorframes. The lady stopped in front of two rooms with the numbers 15 and 17 written on their signs.

"Those will be your rooms." she started putting the keys on the keyholes to unlock them.

Minghao leaned his body forward, taking a glimpse of the inside of two identical rooms. They were beautiful and seemed so comfortable. Polished furniture were placed meticulously around the room as a woolen rug hugged the wooden floor. There was even was a small balcony, with a table.

The bed, as Minghao noticed with disdain, was a big double one in the middle of the room instead of two singles. It was draped with a deep blue blanket, with two pillows perched on its headboard. It made him feel like wanted to lie down and never get up.

"I hope you like them. Go ahead and take some rest. At the third floor there's a small restaurant you can eat if you want, and a shop you can buy traditional products. Feel free to explore." the old lady said with a soft smile.

"Thank you ma’am." Wonwoo bowed once again and the lady ruffled his hair.

"You are the sweetest, boy. I hope you all enjoy your stay." she spoke, and with that she turned around heading back downstairs.

The moment she was gone, Minghao let out a long-contained happy sound and repeatedly tugged Mingyu's shirt.

"Let's go at the springs!" he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Mingyu laughed at him nodding.

"Yes. But first, let's leave our things to our rooms." Wonwoo interrupted and entered his shared room, with Mingyu on toe.

Minghao pouted as he saw the door closing in front of his face, leaving him staring at the number 15. Then his gaze fell on Junhui who held the other door, the one with the number 17, open.

"After you, your pouty highness." he said to Minghao formally.

Minghao frowned before he realised that he was indeed still pouting. He stuck his tongue out at the knight and then shuffled through the door. He let his things beside the bed and quickly exit again. He went at the next door and shouted.

"Mingyu, Wonwoo come on!"

"Give them a bit of time." Junhui pulled him away from the door. "You need to be more patient." he commented.

"But I want to go!" Minghao whined.

"Stop whining xiǎo bǎo." Junhui rolled his eyes, but he had a smile on his face.

"Don't call me that." Minghao said, the whining still in his voice.

Junhui laughed and walked away. "I can't talk to you when you're like this." he said, running a hand through his hair.

Before Minghao could whine again the door of the next room opened and Mingyu exited together with Wonwoo.

"Finally! Let's go!" he said and dragged Mingyu from his hand.

The two rushed down the stairs, Minghao with an excited glint in his eyes, and Mingyu mildly terrified of his friend.

"Slow down, I'm gonna fall down the stairs!" he yelled.

"You’re tall, you don’t fall." Minghao said back.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mingyu cried as he stumbled over the last step. Thankfully, he managed to stay upright.

"Hey! Don't make so much noise, we've barely been here two minutes!" Junhui scolded them from the top of the stairs, admittedly shouting himself.

"You aren't better than them." Wonwoo said back to him.

Minghao ignored him and pulled Mingyu inside the small corridor and through a curtained doorway. As soon as they stepped inside, they both gasped surprised. Polished wood was once again stretching under their boots, before giving its place at the cobbled floor of the outdoor springs. On the left side there were shelves with the basins the old lady told them about while on the right, small cabinets with baskets were placed so the visitors could store their clothes.

At the entrance stood a tall table, on top of which, rolled towels were neatly put. Minghao reached for one and then paced to the cabinets, quickly unbuttoning his shirt.

"Your shame is gone, huh? You know this time underwear isn't allowed right?" Mingyu came beside him undoing his own belt, albeit much slower.

Minghao halted his hands immediately, his head shooting up. "You can't be serious." he said.

Meanwhile Wonwoo and Junhui had entered the room as well.

"Don't scare him." Junhui chided, hitting Mingyu on his back lightly. "You can wear the towel around your waist until you get inside the water." he explained, sitting down at a bench to remove his boots.

"And then what?" Minghao said almost terrified.

"Those springs are mixed, both men in women will be in the same area. You can keep you towel if you want. But don't be surprised if some people do not." Wonwoo explained further.

Minghao hesitated for a second before continued undressing himself. He had come a long way to back out now.

"Alright then. I will try not to look around." he mumbled.

"It’s okay Haohao, I won't be wearing a towel either." Junhui said nonchalantly, folding his breeches before placing them in a basket.

Minghao’s eyes widen. "No please don't! I can't stand that." he said horrified.

He couldn’t be serious. The knight was merely messing around, right? For fun. Right? Minghao sucked a breath as he saw Junhui untying the sting that held his undergarments around his waist. No, he wasn’t messing around! The prince turned his head away, trying to focus on anything else instead of the knight. The other two started laughing

"Why don’t we just stay with our towels for now Junhui?" Wonwoo tried to contain his friend from causing a stroke episode.

The prince prayed at whatever upper power was up there for Junhui to actually listen to Wonwoo.

"I got nothing to hide." the Chinese simply shrugged.

It didn’t work. Minghao buried his head in his hands." I hate you so much, I hope you know it." he said hopelessly.

"Don't worry. You remind me every day." Junhui grinned and disposed his underwear, grabbing a towel and heading for the showers. "Try not to stare too much xiǎo bǎo." he spoke. "You too Mingyu."

_This wasn’t happening_ , Minghao thought to himself as he untangled his breeches.

Mingyu hummed. "Shall I go naked as well?" he asked, eyeing the other two.

"No!" Wonwoo and Minghao chorused loudly.

Mingyu frowned but obeyed anyway. When the three were finally finished undressing too, they joined Junhui at the basins.

Mingyu not very subtly tried to shield Wonwoo, who seemed pretty comfortable with his body. Minghao just wanted to disappear in the corner. Junhui was seemingly at his element, making small talk with other people as they got themselves clean.

"Come on, let's get out already." Minghao whined, once he made sure he was spotless.

"You sure are in a lot of rush today." Wonwoo said as he swept his wet hair up.

"No, I'm not in a rush anymore. I just need Junhui out of public eye, he gives me secondhand embarrassment." Minghao frowned, securing is towel to the best of his ability.

"You can't run away from me forever Minghao." Junhui said coming behind him.

Mingyu joined them as well.

"Calm down, I know we weren't used to public showers or bathrooms back at home, but this isn't so bad." he said, placing a hand on Minghao’s shoulder, startling the poor prince.

Minghao jolted a little, placing his shaky hand on the knock of his towel. What was wrong with him all of a sudden. He was really panicking just because Junhui decided to go naked?

"This is more serious than we thought." Minghao heard the Chinese whispering.

It was only then when the prince realised that his heart was beating a tug quicker than before.

Minghao shook his head. "No, you know what? You're right." he breathed. "I can't be a whiny little baby every time something new happens." he looked at Junhui. "Take the towel off." he ordered.

The other three stared at him like he had grew a second head.

"Um okay. I think _we_ don't want to see that." Mingyu said half-jokingly.

“No I insist. If you want to go naked, do it.” Minghao said again, his eyes locked with the knight’s

Junhui sighed. He approached the prince and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, stirring him towards the ponds.

"Seriously, calm down. I won't take the towel off at all if it makes you _so_ uncomfortable." he said softly, leaning closer to Minghao’s ear. "Stop being so awkward though. We're here to have fun, remember?" Junhui continued.

Minghao lift his gaze, eyeing the knight carefully. And just like that, the flattering of his heart died down, a feeling of comfort blooming in its place instead. Minghao wanted to hit his head on a wall. How could the knight mess up his emotions so much?

Just like back at the waterfall. At one moment he was panicking, screaming for Junhui to not let him drown and then the next one, he was tightly pressed against the knight’s body as the other calmed him down. Had really Junhui found Minghao’s button that stops his panic mode?

The prince felt his head buzzing from all the thinking, so he just sighed and nodded. Junhui was right for once. They came to the springs to have fun and relax.

"Good boy." Junhui said in Mandarin, patting his head gently.

Minghao tried not to be heard as he inhaled sharply. What the hell was _wrong_ with him today?

"Hey, feeling any better?" Mingyu came at his side, elbowing him gently, "We're finally going in the hot springs!" he said excitedly.

The prince heaved a sigh before smiling at his friend's excitement.

"Yes I’m alright, let's go." he said and wiggled out of Junhui's hold.

The four friends walked out of the changing area and on the cobbled floor, trying to find an empty pool. Minghao let out a happy sound as he finally saw the round ponds, filled with warm, steaming water. There were indeed people of all ages and genders, relaxing quietly.

Sycamore and oak branches creeped above their heads, creating a natural canopy with their leaves, blocking the unnecessary sunlight. Birds could be heard, chirping melodically as they flew between the foliage accompanied by the song of the crickets. Minghao felt peace returning to his body.

After a little searching they spotted an unoccupied pond at the left corner on the back. They walked there quickly, before anyone else claims it and started entering one by one.

Mingyu offered Wonwoo his hand, helping him enter the water with a sweet smile. After the knight was in, Junhui also grabbed Mingyu's hand.

"Thanks for helping your _friends_ get inside the water brother." he said a little louder.

Some people who were close, turned around to see from where the voice was coming from. But luckily as soon as they spotted them, they simply looked away.

"Why did you do that exactly?" Wonwoo hissed as Junhui stood beside him in the pool.

"Because your boyfriend is way too obvious." Junhui whispered back.

He was thighs deep in the water when he turned to look at Minghao. "Close your eyes." he said teasingly, unfolding the edge of his towel.

Minghao widened his eyes. Junhui laughed and sat down, the water reaching to his torso. He then made a move and the towel was off. The knight sighed in comfort and leaned back, perching his upper body on the ponds side.

"Come on." Mingyu offered his hand to Minghao as well, noticeably with less affection in his eyes.

Minghao took his hand and went in. He walked towards the other side and as far away from Junhui as possible. The water was indeed hotter than the one at the lake. Minghao felt his body relaxing completely as soon as he was fully enveloped in its warmth.

The prince looked over at Junhui, who had his eyes closed and sighed. "How come you don't have a problem with him." he then asked Wonwoo.

"We had communal bathrooms in our building. I've seen _way_ worst things than this." Wonwoo informed him, stretching.

"Oh God. I don't know if I should pity you or admire you." Minghao said.

Wonwoo chuckled. "It's really nothing special. We were all guys, we all have the same bodies. You just stop caring after a while." he shrugged.

Just then, Mingyu crouched down in front of them, splashing warm water over his chest.

"Isn't the water great?" he asked, his eyes glinting.

Wonwoo blushed and looked the other way.

"Well, that doesn’t apply for everyone as it seems." Junhui snickered.

Minghao’s eyes fell on the Chinese again. He seemed to have sprawled out in the water, his arms on the edge of the pool and his legs stretched out in front of him. Mingyu turned towards his direction and whistled.

"How come you whistle only for him? You can't even see his body." Minghao argued.

"I don't have to; his confidence is attractive." Mingyu stuck his tongue out, assuming a similar pose as the Chinese knight, albeit much closer to Wonwoo.

"Careful Mingyu? You can't always be so smooth and get closer to Won." the Chinese knight remind him.

The footman pouted again. Minghao averted his attention from his friends and decided to look around the premises. They weren’t a lot of people in the springs, but just like Wonwoo had warned, some of them were naked. It was mostly old men though, and that equally grossed Minghao out and relieved him.

What grabbed his attention though, was a particular group of girls that were lounging in a pond a few meters away. They were whispering among themselves, then looking toward the direction of their own pond.

Minghao saw them giggling at something and he turned his face towards his companion. Junhui had put his towel on top of his head, twisting it in a funny position. The prince looked again back at the girls and then gasped in realization.

Of course, Junhui would catch the attention of women. It was only natural. Minghao wasn't blind. Even though he didn’t fathom Junhui, he could admit that the knight _was_ attractive. With his naked body and wet hair, he was bound to be, or become, every young girls’ ideal type.

Minghao subtly observed the young ladies, who were now fussing over Mingyu and Wonwoo. Wonwoo too was handsome, Minghao thought. His face was sharp, and his slender eyes looked cold but pretty. And Mingyu was a footman, that said enough about his best friend. It was literally his job to look handsome.

The prince felt amused at the poor girls' longing stares. Those two belonged solely to each other. That amused feeling greatly contrasted with the emptiness he felt when they looked back at Junhui. Logically speaking, the knight could make a move anytime he wanted.

"You guys have an audience." he decided to inform his friends, in case they hadn't noticed.

"We do?" Mingyu asked.

"Since we came in." Junhui added and sent a wink at the girls.

Mingyu scooted even closer to Wonwoo. His arm was almost behind the other's back.

"Mingyu." Minghao warned again.

"But-" the footman started.

"No buts. There's nothing you can do about it." the prince said strictly.

Mingyu huffed annoyed, crossing his arm in front of his chest.

Wonwoo then tapped him on the shoulder. "Put you hand underwater." he whispered at his boyfriend. "No one will see us." he smiled as they secretly linked hands.

"So, I'm guessing that no one wants to move to that pond?" Junhui pointed at the girls shamelessly.

Minghao glared at him. "Junhui focus please." he said.

There was a sudden anger at the tip of his tongue that not even Minghao knew from where it came from. He just felt like it.

"Oh come on, you can be pretty charming if you want, I've seen it.” Junhui said. “Also, these two are definitely getting laid tonight. Why shouldn't we?" he pointed at the couple.

Minghao swallowed the insult that was ready to burst out of his mouth, and thought about it. Honestly, he had never been interested in dating someone before. He didn’t have the time. In all of his life the only thing he thought about was his duties towards his people and how he could be a better king than his ancestors when the time came. He considered marriage a small thing, as he knew that someday he would be forced to marry a princess, or some other with royal blood, that his father would have chosen.

So dating was a detail to his life. But as Minghao glanced at those girls he found himself less and less willing to go there and sit with them.

"I would rather stay here." he murmured.

Junhui looked at him strangely and Minghao felt like he was shrinking under his gaze. It wasn't that the girls weren't pretty. But Minghao could more easily picture _Junhui_ with a couple of them rather than himself. Laughing and then maybe drinking before they retired for the night. Junhui would be in his element. He could finally put all of his fake flirting to use. _The girls had no chance of resisting him_ , Minghao thought with a slight smile.

But that wasn't the point now, was it? How could his thoughts trail off like that? It was the girls he was supposed to be thinking about.

"You sure?" Junhui eventually asked him, tilting his head.

"Completely." Minghao nodded. "I'm more comfortable here with you three." he cleared his throat.

"What's that I hear? How can you possibly _not_ want to talk with a girl Minghao? It's almost like you don't want to _court_ her. It would be _so bad_ if your friends insisted you should finally get together with a girl." Mingyu said pointedly.

Minghao sunk further in the pool trying to hide his blush. "I'm sorry about that. I guess I spoke without knowing." he mumbled.

"Let's just leave all this girl conversation behind us then." Junhui said softer, slouching a bit and relaxing, looking more like he normally did, and less like the attractive ladies-man.   
“And I loved the fact that you two didn't deny that you are going to get laid tonight." he then smirked at the couple.

"What we are doing in our bed is our business only. So, stay out of it you little quidnunc." Wonwoo said and flicked Junhui's forehead.

"Oh no, he hurt me!" Junhui wailed dramatically and Minghao giggled.

This was more like it. The prince sat back, finally having the chance to enjoy the calming, warm water.

~*~

Later that night Minghao was sitting on the small balcony of their room gazing at the starry night. It was one of those nights that his mind had decided to work double sift, making him think all kinds of things that left him with mixed emotions.

He had a great time at the springs. They ended up talking calmly, letting their skin soak and relax in the warm water. It was refreshing for everyone. Then, after a quick meal at the third floor, they sat at Mingyu and Wonwoo's room until it was too late, and they decided it was time to sleep. Except, no one had actually gone to sleep.

It seemed that all the ‘sneaking around’ Mingyu and Wonwoo did back at the castle eventually became a habit, as they had somehow managed to enter the springs again, way later than they were allowed to. Minghao had a perfect view of them from his balcony, debating with himself if he should stay and watch so he could embarrass them tomorrow, or go inside and save his innocence.

His conflict ended though when a certain Chinese tapped him on his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, rubbing his eye.

"Shh." Minghao hushed him and patted the chair next to him. "I'm watching a show." he whispered.

"What?" Junhui arched an eyebrow but sat beside him anyway.

"Look at them. They think they're sneaky." he pointed at the couple who had just went into the water.

"Oh my God. I knew it." Junhui snickered, leaning a little forward to have a better look.

"At least it's only our balconies that has a view of the springs. They're hidden from all the other rooms." Minghao said and then heaved a sigh. "I hate them, but I love them at the same time."

"Define hate." Junhui said.

"They are so disgustingly in love. You didn't know either of them before you came in Korea, but I knew Mingyu my entire life. Sometimes, I feel like there is a sign in front of his brain that says; _'we're closed now, love happened'_. It's weird." he said.

Junhui tried to muffle his laugh. "That's the sweetness in it." he smiled.

"I also think it's sweet, though I... I've never thought about relationships before. This is my first exposure to them." Minghao played with his fingers as he revealed the information.

"You are exposed to a good one. Just so you know." Junhui said softly.

"I could have had worse, I suppose. I don't think I would ever be able to have something like that. They're so... loving." Minghao continued thoughtfully. "Maybe it's just me though. I don't have something to compare them with.”

“You don’t huh?” Junhui voiced.

Minghao turned to face him. “Wait, you do?” he asked, sitting a little straighter.

That seemed interesting.

"Well in a way I do." Junhui cleared his throat.

"Really? Care to share?" Minghao said, tilting his head suggestively.

"You want me to?" the Chinese asked.

Minghao looked back at the ponds to see that Wonwoo was on Mingyu's lap, heavily making out. They seemed like they would stay like that for a while.

"If it's alright with you. I remember how you don't seem to really talk about yourself." he replied to Junhui.

Junhui smiled and sat back in his chair.

"As I have already told to Wonwoo once, this situation isn't completely new to me." he explained as he took a look at the night sky above them.

"What do you mean? Do you often break out your friends from a prison and escape your town with them?" Minghao asked, glancing at the older.

Junhui laughed softly. "I didn't mean our escape my dear prince. I meant our lovely couple over there." he said.

Minghao looked back down, noticing a towel near the pond his two friends were occupying. He made a face as he realized someone was _entirely_ naked.

"So, you had friends that were in a relationship before. I'm sure the girl wouldn't allow things to get so heated publicly." he said pointing at the towel.

"Well yes they didn't allow it." Junhui voiced. "But it wasn't a girl's fault."

"What do you mean?" Minghao turned his gaze back to the knight.

Junhui looked at him in the eyes, obviously a little hesitant if he should continue or not. But a moment after he sighed, "Minghao. It's not the first time that I cover two male people that are in love."

Minghao stared at Junhui for a moment. Then he looked back at Wonwoo and Mingyu. Then back at Junhui.

"Now hold on a second. You know more people like them?" he asked disbelievingly.

"I do. Well I did." the Chinese corrected himself.

"Don't tell me they were killed." Minghao said frighten.

"Oh my, no! For God's sake." Junhui gasped surprised." They live. But unfortunately, they are not together anymore." he explained.

Minghao exhaled relieved. The death of other people that are like their friends was the last thing he needed to hear right now, especially as he watched them so happily suck faces.

"What happened then? Don't make me guess again." Minghao warned jokingly.

"As much as I love our little games, this story is a bit more complicated." Junhui chuckled. "Their names were Huang Zitao and Wu Yifan and, this time they were _both_ knights of the royal family's personal guard. Two of the best soldiers and sweetest people I've ever met.” Junhui started.

Minghao hummed, taking one quick glance at their couple before he directed his focus on the knight.

“As I have already told you, I joined the army a little older than most of the trainees do. At that time the general had assigned Zitao as my personal teacher. Tao, as his close friends often called him, was simply adorable. He was never strict and when I made a mistake, he always explained it until I did it correctly.”

“He sounds like a nice person.” Minghao commented.

“He was indeed.” Junhui agreed. “So, not long after I became his student, Tao introduced me to his friend Yifan." he spoke softly, a fade smile ghosting his lips.

“How old they were?” the prince randomly asked.

"Well if I was fifteen back then, that makes Yifan twenty-one and Zitao eighteen." Junhui snickered.

"Oh, they were older than you.” Minghao observed and the other nodded. “Please continue."

Junhui looked at the stars again.

"Yifan was different than Tao. He also was really kind, but less talkative. At the start at least. Two years passed and we became inseparable. Every day, after my training, I went to see them at the mini duels they did, and then we would hang out together. They were both so good, and they had the best chemistry. One day, I finished training earlier, so I had the idea to go and surprise them. But when I reached the small place that they were normally training, there was no one there.”

Minghao mumbled back a sound that was barely a word. He found himself focusing more and more on Junhui’s story as the time passed.

“It was weird you know because their lesson should have already started. So, I started searching around for them..." another laugh left Junhui's mouth as he continued. "Our palace has a big forest right outside the back wall. There is actually a door with a small path that leads to pavilion inside the trees. It was originally meant for the royals, but it was later abandoned. So in the search for my friends, I passed in front of that door by chance, finding it open. I couldn't help my curiosity and I slipped out to take a look around. It was my first time walking through that forest. The surroundings were so new, that naturally after wondering around some time, I got lost. I was at the brick of freaking out when I suddenly heard voices. So, as all people do when they are lost, I followed them. And then it was when I saw them."

"Oh." Minghao said, realizing what Junhui must have seen. "It's always in the abandoned places that the action happens, isn't it?" he tried to joke.

"But they aren't so safe after all." the Chinese sighed. "Anyway, back to the story. When I saw my two friends together under a tree making out, the first thing that crossed my mind wasn't actually a bad thing. Yes, they were both males and yes it was weird and illegal, but when I watched how gently Yifan was caressing Tao's cheek as they kissed, and how beautiful Tao's smile was when Yifan spoke to him sweetly it didn't make me feel disgusted. On the contrary I felt happy. Because _they_ seemed happy." Junhui continued.

"I sat there waiting for them. Giving them and myself time. Time to think of what I should do. Should I expose myself to them? Should I leave, trying to find the path to the castle? I was lost, it would have taken me forever to find my way back. So I waited. After a while they stopped. When I was sure that they were back from cloud nine, I took a breath and revealed myself from behind the tree I was hiding."

"At least you weren't body slammed to the ground and threatened to be killed on the spot." Minghao raised his eyebrows.

"Every action has a reason. Mine too." Junhui said simply. "Because Zitao and Yifan didn't end up as lucky as our lovely friends did."

"No one will ever be as lucky as them." Minghao agreed.

Minghao observed as Mingyu's hands trailed down Wonwoo's back until they disappeared underwater. He must have done something, as Wonwoo broke the kiss and buried his head in Mingyu's neck. At this point, Minghao remained unfazed.

"What happened to your friends?" he asked to distract himself.

"Well...when I walked towards them, they were shocked of course. They tried to make up excuses and convince me that this wasn’t what it looked like. I stopped them though, explaining that I was perfectly okay with what they had, and that their relationship hadn't change the way I felt about them as my friends. They both cried in relief, making me promise that I wouldn’t reveal anything. Of course I wouldn’t. But there wasn’t a traitor that ruined them this time. Everything was fine for around a year. Until one day Tao burst into my room, eyes bloodshot as tears ran down his puffed cheeks. He had a letter clutched in his hand which he threw at me as soon as he fell on my bed.”

A small pause then a sigh before Junhui continued.

“Yifan had left. He had left Tao and the country. The reason for it? No one ever found out. I was shocked, and Tao inconsolable. I held him in my arms as he sobbed, my own eyes filling with tears as well. I could almost hear his heart shuttering to pieces. It was devastating. Four days this story lasted, and then Tao was never the same. Every time the name Yifan was even heard, Tao's eyes filled with hatred and his mouth with poison." Junhui's face fell.

"It was so pure and real, everything that those two had. But it was destroyed. Zitao was destroyed and deep down I believe that Yifan did too. From that day on I swore to myself that if something like that occurs again in my life, I will do whatever it is in my power to protect it."

Minghao sighed deeply. That story explained a lot about Junhui and his immediate acceptance of their two friends’ relationship. The prince recalled the words that Junhui screamed at him that night.

_‘Leave. You don't understand what's going on. I won't let you ruin everything. Go away.’_

Behind every action was indeed a reason. Minghao looked at the stars above, the stars that always watched humanity’s doings. Its flaws and mistakes, yet continuing on shining brightly like nothing happened.

"Humans will always be humans. Love is as amazing as it is terrifying." he said thoughtfully.   
"We don't really choose who we fall in love with, do we? I'm sure that your friend Zitao would never have chosen Yifan if he knew he would have left him one day. Perhaps my father wouldn't have chosen my mother had he known she would die so soon. If we had the ability to see how relationships ended, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't bother get into them in the first place."

"If you put it like that you make love sound like a curse." the knight said.

"It definitely seems like it. There is no point in trying to be with someone when you don't know how long it is going to last. Can you imagine Wonwoo and Mingyu not working out in the end? What would happen to all of us then?" he questioned.

"It doesn't always have to be that way. Why are you so pessimistic? Why don't you try thinking something nice for a change?" Junhui frowned.

"I can't. _I can't_." Minghao said tiredly, putting his head between his hands. "I really hope these two prove me wrong." he murmured.

Junhui simply sighed. Silence fell between them as no one had to say anything further. Suddenly a moaning sound pierced through the air, jolting both of them.

"Oh my god, I'm gonna murder them." Minghao exclaimed, while Junhui started giggling.

"Don't laugh!" the prince hissed as another sound followed. "This can't be happening."

"Was that Wonwoo? Damn." Junhui kept laughing quietly.

"Junhui! This is dangerous." the prince hissed. "They can get caught. Oh my God, these idiots."

"And what are you going to do? Interrupt then and get them back here? I'd like to see you try." Junhui replied with a smirk.

Minghao blushed as Wonwoo's throaty voice was heard again. "Tell me what should we do then. Leave them like that?" he asked the other.

"Let's throw something at them and then run inside." Junhui proposed, looking for something to hit their two friends with.

"Are you serious? That's your best idea?" Minghao said dumbfounded.

Junhui quickly walked next to him. "If you don't agree, I will throw _you_." he said and grabbed Minghao's shoulders, swinging him to the direction of the springs.

“Nooo! What are you doing!?” the prince whisper-shouted, grabbing the balcony’s iron bar.

Junhui laughed behind him and dropped his hands to Minghao's waist, pulling him back, away from the railing.

"Go bring a pillow. Ten points if I hit their heads." he said, pushing him inside the room.

Minghao glared at him. "There are only two pillows you idiot." he said.

"I'll sacrifice mine." Junhui insisted, rolling his eyes.

Before the prince could disagree again, they heard another muffled noise coming from the ground. Minghao bit his lip, and quickly brought Junhui his requested pillow. "You do it." he said and pushed it in the other's arms.

Junhui nodded with a wide grin and then approached the edge of their balcony, careful not to grab the attention of the other two. They were so wrapped up in each other that Junhui was practically invisible. He swang the pillow around a bit, getting a feel for its weight. He aimed carefully and with a swift motion he threw it. It didn't hit the couple's heads, but it landed on Wonwoo's shoulder.

"Go back, go back, go back!" Junhui pushed Minghao inside their room, closing the window and the curtain behind him.

"Did you get them?" Minghao asked anxiously.

"Of course I did! Lighten up Haohao." Junhui chuckled, squishing the prince's cheeks. "Let's wait for them at the door, they're probably scared right now." he continued.

True to Junhui's saying, after a couple of minutes steps and muffled voices were sound on the hallway.

Minghao eyed Junhui cautiously. "Maybe we shouldn't have scared them like that." he voiced a little concerned.

Junhui merely brushed him off. He then opened the door and poked his head out, making Mingyu jump in surprise, placing a hand over his mouth to keep his scream contained.

"I'd like my pillow back." Junhui smirked at them and extended his arm.

"You!?" Mingyu screeched.

"Junhui!" Wonwoo glared.

"Shhh, you're in the hallway." Minghao appeared behind Junhui. "Go to sleep you two, don't worry, we're the only ones who saw." he said.

"Don't do that ever again." Wonwoo chided at his friend and entered his room.

"Seriously hyung." Mingyu huffed as well before following his boyfriend.

And the door was closed in their faces. Minghao looked at Junhui judgmentally.

"See?" he huffed and entered back in their room.

Junhui remained unbothered. He calmy closed their door and followed Minghao inside.

"Should we go to sleep now?" he asked, stretching his arms above his head. "For real this time."

Minghao sighed deeply. He dreaded this moment all day. As much as he wanted to lay flat on the bed and sleep forever, knowing that Junhui, and only Junhui was in the same room made him feel weird. But the possibility of staying up three nights in the row, was out of the question. He looked at the knight and gave a small nod. There was nothing that he could do now rather than braced himself for the night that will follow.

Minghao walked slowly into the small bathroom, drank a cup of water, and debated if he should undress, wear something else or just go to sleep like this. He watched as Junhui shamelessly striped his pants and shirt before he shuffled under the blanket.

The prince couldn't help but wonder how people like Junhui exist. People that didn't fear what others say about them. Stuck in their own little world. Another sigh left his lips as he saw the knight wiggling around to get comfortable on the bed.

_Come on Minghao man up. It's not like you haven't slept with Junhui before,_ he thought. Though that time was under other more serious circumstances.

He ended up climbing in the bed with his breeches and loose undershirt. Junhui eyed him up and down but didn't make a comment. The knight was on his stomach, his arms folded beneath his pillowless head. Minghao got underneath the covers, immediately turned his back on him.

Junhui sighed. "Goodnight xiǎo bǎo." he said in Chinese.

"Don't call me that." Minghao mumbled and blew the lantern beside his head. "...Goodnight." he whispered a while after darkness fell.

~*~

An hour had passed and Minghao wasn’t asleep yet. In fact, he was more awake than ever. His mind was doing its thing again, leaving the poor prince in no peace.

After the first thirty minutes, Minghao had managed to block Junhui's soft sleeping breathes from his attention. The rest of the time, his mind trailed back to their time on the balcony. That experience explained a lot about Junhui's calmness for the two lovers. Although that almost blind devotion was still weirdly illogical. Junhui must have struggled with the concept of relationships as well. His views on them didn't seem as well thought out as the rest of his opinions. Minghao could relate to that.

Now, when it was too late to form logical thoughts, Minghao's mind took an entirely different direction. He focused on what was happening beneath him and Junhui, at the actions of his two friends, the sounds Wonwoo was making.

If he wanted to be totally honest with himself that felt so awkward and weird. It was the most intimate moment that Minghao had seen in their relationship and truthfully, he didn't want to see or hear it ever again. He couldn't help but feel confused though. Why did Wonwoo made those noises? What did they do? Did it felt so good, that made the knight forget his surroundings and expose himself so much?

It wasn't the first time that Wonwoo, serious and careful Wonwoo, got carried away like this. Minghao was curious. He might not have wanted to hear it again, but he was not disgusted. How would it be like if someone held him like that, making him feel safe enough to not care who might be listening to his sounds of pleasure?

... Could that person ever be a woman?

Minghao jolted as a hand fell on his waist. The prince stiffened at the action.

"Hey..." he heard Junhui’s gruffy voice. "I can hear you thinking all the way from here. Stop." he said softly.

Minghao tried squirm out of his hold but Junhui didn't let him.

"What's wrong?" he heard the knight ask.

"I just _can't_ calm down." he replied, gripping the corner tightly. "Get your hand off."

Junhui sighed but didn't let go. "Your body must be tired." he said and ran his hand over Minghao's bicep. "What would help your mind relax?" he asked softly.

"I don't know. Nothing I'm just gonna stay awake all night." Minghao argued.

Junhui's hand was cold against his burning skin. Yet it felt weirdly soothing. Suddenly Minghao’s restlessness started fading away.

"Close your eyes." Junhui instructed with his sleepy voice. "Think about the morning when we were relaxing in the springs. The hot water felt nice, didn't it?"

"It did." Minghao answered hesitantly.

"We had fun after all. Was it what you expected?" the Chinese asked again, moving a few centimeters toward the prince's body.

"...It was." Minghao pursed his lips.

Numbness spread in his veins, making his body feel heavy.

"And the view, remember the view. So many trees all around us, going down the steep mountains. The tiny villages far, far away. The little blue line that was the sea. It's all so far away from us here. It's really beautiful, isn't it?" Junhui continued.

Minghao made an affirmative sound.

"And I bet it will be even more beautiful when we see it from up close. When we will swim in it." Junhui switched in his mother language.

Minghao shivered at the sudden change of language, a small smile creeping on his lips. His mother always talked to him when she wanted to calm him down. There was no way that Junhui knew that though. The knight kept talking about beautiful things they saw those few days they were outside of Gisa, adding small details about Zhanshi too. Minghao didn’t know that _this,_ was exactly what he needed right now.

"There are many beautiful things to focus your attention on. Don't think about things that make you anxious." Junhui advised.

Minghao didn't reply and the knight stopped talking, the hand on his arm being their only source of contact. The prince didn't want him to stop, but he was also too shy to ask him to continue.

He didn't have to though. After a while, Junhui noticed he still wasn't falling asleep, so started mumbling a lullaby. His voice was barely above a whisper making the prince heave a sigh.

Minghao felt like crying all of a sudden. The last time he heard an actual lullaby was from his mother years ago. His emotions were so triggered and Junhui's voice was so calm, that he unconsciously buried his body further inside the mattress, making his contact with Junhui more sensible.

Their bodies weren't exactly touching, but they were close enough to exchange heat. As the knight continued singing, a sob escaped Minghao's lips and he clutched Junhui's hand with his own. The knight paused his singing to sigh and squeeze his hand back.

"It's okay... Let it out." he mumbled, still in Mandarin.

The words worked like a magic spell. The prince let out a wrecked sob. Tears rolled down his eyes, drenching his pillow. Minghao was always so busy with his studies and duties back at the castle, that he had never allowed himself to think _so_ far behind. The realization came crushing down on him so suddenly, that he didn’t have time to process it. He missed his mother terribly.

It was one painful truth that the prince didn’t want to admit. But now there was no turning back. Minghao let himself sink in the vivid memories he had created with his mother, before she passed away.

He closed his eyes, his little whimpers filling the silent room. Junhui then turned his hand, lacing their fingers together as he continued his lullaby. With every thumb movement the knight made against the prince's knuckles, Minghao's outburst became more intense.

"It's alright. Everything is alright. I'm here. I won't leave." Junhui whispered softly. “I promise.”

"W-we won't m-mention this ever a-again." Minghao said between sobs, bringing his knees close to his chest.

"Never happened. Whatever you say whatever you do. It will stay here in this very room." the knight hummed gently.

Minghao lifted his head and pushed his pillow back, so Junhui's head wouldn't be flat on the mattress. His own head settled on Junhui's forearm, that was now wet from tears. Junhui sang the last words of his lullaby. When the final note was out, he nuzzled his nose in Minghao's hair.

"Junhui?" Minghao sniffed.

"Yes?"

"Can... you please...sing one more?" the prince asked.

"Of course Haohao." the knight answered.

Junhui used their threaded hands to gently wipe Minghao’s tears away. He then started the second lullaby. At some point he started getting sleepy. Apparently, he hadn't woken up properly before. He kept going though, trying to stay awake until the prince himself fell asleep.

Minghao stopped crying when the song reached at its middle. He took a shaky breath and close his eyes. The emotional steps left him exhausted. Finally, he was ready to drift to sleep.

Before he fell in the dreamland though he took another breath and whispered; "Thank Junhui.”

"It's okay." the other yawned. "It never happened." he murmured, nuzzling in Minghao's hair once again before sleep claimed him too.

That was the first night that Minghao slept feeling peaceful and safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO!  
> This one was a little um intense? Minghao finally starts to give up his imposing and unfeeling facade of the Gisa's prince...  
> Though he has a looong way yet, before he finally becomes what he is meant to be.
> 
> That was it for today people!!!  
> Thank you for always being here and like in every previous chapter... Looking Forward To The Comments!!!
> 
> So, until next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy!
> 
> -SkWh


	18. I'm not jealous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo fellow readers and writers!!!  
> SkWh here and I'm back with the next chapter!!
> 
> Just before we start I would like to note two things;
> 
> -Firstly! Once again there is going to be SMUT in this chapter, so please be mindful of it if you don't want to read it.
> 
> -Secondly! I want to apologise in advance for the pour editing this chapter might have. It was a really tough week, full of exams and stress, so I didn't pay as much of my time for correcting as I wanted to. Again I'm sorry.😭
> 
> Anyway I don't want to talk much. Without further ado....
> 
> Enjoy~~~

The morning that followed was uneventful. The four friends slept in for the first time in a while, choosing to recharge from their hard trip instead.

It was almost noon when Junhui woke up. He disentangled himself from the sleeping prince, careful not to wake him up. After a quick visit to the bathroom, he decided to sit at the balcony to wait for the rest of his friends to wake up. He wasn't sat on his chair for two minutes when he heard a voice from the balcony next to him.

"Psssst hyung!"

It was Mingyu who whisper-shouted, waving happily from the window door.

“Good morning Mingyu." Junhui waved back before standing up. “What happened?” he asked.

"Good morning. Did you have a nice night?" Mingyu asked him back, but it was obvious that something else was on his mind.

"Yes pup. Did you?" the knight said pointedly.

"I did, until someone decided to throw on pillow at me." Mingyu pouted. "For your information, we continued in our room." he added cheekily.

Junhui gave him an unamused look. "Mingyu, do you have any idea what could have happened if someone had seen you last night?”

"Nobody would have seen us. We're experts at sneaking out, remember? And you know what, even if they did saw us, what would they do? Kill us? We're not in Gisa anymore." Mingyu said with a frown. "Hiding is tiring. I want to the world to know how much I love Wonwoo."

"I wish Minghao could hear you say that." Junhui sighed with a lopsided smile on his lips.

"I wish _everybody_ could hear me say that." Mingyu said again.

Even though it was extremely dangerous, Mingyu’s stubbornness about expressing his love for Wonwoo out loud, was sill fascinating to Junhui.

"Anyway. This is not how we should start our day." the footman smiled again. "You know, I have a little problem." he confessed, eyes averting Junhui’s.

"What is it?" the knight asked, tilting his head.

"Please don't say anything to Minghao, he will tease me for eternity. But umm..." Mingyu fumbled with his words. "For any kind of umm you know, penetration to happen... Hyung don't laugh!" he cried with embarrassment as Junhui burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Junhui said between his laughter when he saw Mingyu's face falling. "Please go on."

"As I was saying..." Mingyu continued with red cheeks. "I need something uhh slippery, I guess? Something that would be safe for consumption- Hyung!" Mingyu complained again as Junhui was thrown into a second fit of laughter.

"Oh my God! This is incredible. I'm really sorry Mingyu I can't help myself." the Chinese said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

"You're terrible, I'm never saying anything to you again." the footman crossed his arms over his chest.

Junhui arched him an curious eyebrow at which the other sighed.

"Can you help me? I have no idea what to do." he said honest worry swimming in his eyes.

Mingyu just cared _so much_ about getting everything right, it was adorable.

"Of course I can help. Leave to me pup." Junhui smiled sympathetically.

Mingyu let out a breath. "Thank you. I uhhh… maybe I should return inside." he mumbled.

Junhui nodded still grinning at the embarrassed footman. It was so amusing, how confident Mingyu was for some things and how shy he became for others. Junhui felt like he was taking care of a sweet little brother. He had always wanted to play the role of the responsible hyung.

He smiled to himself and entered his shared room as well. His eyes immediately landed on the slim figure on the right side of the twin bed and his smile grew more. He stepped closer and sat at his own side observing the prince’s sleeping form.

Minghao was still curled up, like the knight had left him last night, the sheets tangled around his limbs and his cheek pressed at the edge of the pillow they had shared. Junhui didn't want to think too much about what had happened.

It was obviously one of Minghao's lowest moments and Junhui didn't want to judge him from it. It was hard keeping feelings bottled up like Minghao did. At least Junhui hopped he would be by his side from now on, to offer him even the least amount of relief he could.

He got out of the bed and rolled his eyes at his increasing attachment. He couldn't deny it anymore. It was small, but it was there, and it was different than what he felt towards Mingyu and Wonwoo. Minghao’s problems, his sparkling personality was much closer to Junhui’s than the ones of the other two. Minghao was not a perfect man by any means, but he felt like an equal.

Junhui sighed and snatched the pouch with the coins, before exiting the room. He trailed towards the stairs and up to the third floor where the small shop was located. As he reached there and shuffled through the threshold, he was immediately hit by the smell of spices and hand-made products.

The smells were calming and refreshing, adding sweetness in the morning air. His mind trailed back to the times Tao babbled about Yifan non-stop, having no one else to talk to about his lover. Junhui had learned more details about their love life than his 18-year-old brain needed. But at last, there came the day when he found some of the information useful.

The knight approached the shelf with the aromatic oils and looked at them carefully, recalling some of the required characteristics Zitao had listed.

A slippery substance but not too viscous. Just enough to make friction easier for both parties. Junhui read the handwritten labels carefully. The variety was incredible. Lots of different smells and colours, as expected from the shop of a hot-springs resort.

What scents did Mingyu even like? Wonwoo liked fruits, so maybe something sweet? Oh, it had to be free of alcohol, Junhui reminded himself. His eyes darted around, until they fell on a light yellowish small vial of a vanilla scented oil. That looked like a decent choice, he thought and shook it a little for further examination. The oil looked pretty consistent, so Junhui nodded to himself, smiling triumphally.

The moment he straightened his back he sensed someone approaching him.

"Good morning!" said a voice in Mandarin, that definitely wasn't Minghao's.

Junhui turned his head towards the voice. The stable boy, Mingming, was at his side, looking at him with a wide smile on his lips.

"Good morning." Junhui smiled back.

"I see you're a man of culture." he said pointing at the vial. "Do you know how rare men that look after themselves are?" he made a face.

"Well I've always been weak for beautiful things." Junhui laughed softly.

"It shows." Mingming said, not making eye contact. "Anyway, I have a day off today and I felt like speaking our lovely language. What are you doing after buying this?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

"I don't know yet. I think I will visit the springs later when my friends wake up." the knight answered walking towards the cashier.

"Oh, okay. I'll just... see you around then, yeah?" Mingming rubbed the back of his head a little awkwardly.

Junhui felt something tug inside him as he saw the stable boy turning to leave. Maybe he could invite him to spend some time along with them. It wouldn’t be that bad to have a new presence around them for a while, right? Besides he had said to Mingming to come and find him whenever he wanted, so…

"Hey, wait." Junhui spoke, making the stable boy stop. “Would you like to join us?”

Mingming turned around, looking at him with shy eyes. "Can I? I don't want to intrude... Though I don't know anyone else my age here either... But if you asked, it's okay then, right?" he talked more to himself than to Junhui and the knight found that amusing.

His accent was also ringing right to Junhui's ears. Minghao, despite being fluent in Mandarin, hadn't quite managed to keep his Korean accent out of the language. But Mingming’s, woke something nostalgic in him.

"It will be no problem don't worry." the knight smiled as he finished paying. They both exited the small shop, walking back to the staircase. "How about meeting us at the showers in one hour?"

"Sounds like a plan! See you later Junhui." Mingming's hand lingered on Junhui's shoulder before he rushed downstairs.

Junhui looked on as Mingming's back disappeared from his view. That was going to be interesting.

The knight returned to his room after a couple of minutes. When he opened the door, he saw that his roommate was sitting at the edge of their bed, trying to get the sleep out of his system.

"Good morning Minghao." he chirped, closing the door behind him.

"...'morning." came the sleepy reply.

Minghao's eyes were red and puffy, Junhui noticed. He kept rubbing them, trying to get the residue of yesterday's tears off. His black hair was also messy, having been squished between a pillow, Junhui's arms and his face. All in all, everything about the way Minghao looked reminded the knight of the previous night.

Junhui had promised to not speak about it though, so he made sure to not utter a word of it.

"Well I was about to wake you and the guys up so we could have one more round at those beautiful ponds out there. What do you say?" Junhui suggested lightly.

"Mmm." was all Minghao voiced, still rubbing his eyes.

Junhui chuckled. He approached the half-sleeping prince and sat on the floor in front of his legs.

"Xiǎo bǎo~ Wake up~” he sing-songed, teasing Minghao's toes.

"Mmmm!" Minghao complained with the same sleepy tone, folding his legs beneath his body with a pout.

His eyes were gentle though as he looked at Junhui, so the knight didn’t give up. He scooted closer and took Minghao’s hands in his own. He started playing with his fingers, tugging at them gently as he massaged the morning soreness away.

"Come on Minghao, wakey wakey~" he said again.

Minghao didn’t speak this time. Instead he started playing along with Junhui’s fingers, eyes not really focusing. Junhui snickered and ruffled his hair before he got up.

"I'll go see if Wonwoo's up. When I come back, I want to see you standing." he said and walked away.

Minghao hummed and fell back on the bed, trying to seek a few more minutes of sleep.

"Minghao I mean it. I told Mingming to meet us at the showers in one hour." Junhui said as he opened the door. "So up, up!"

"Who's Mingming?" Minghao mumbled sleepily.

Junhui merely sighed before exiting their room. He made two steps down the hall and knocked on the door of the next room, waiting for someone to open. After a lot of shuffling from inside, the wooden door creaked open, revealing Mingyu.

"Good morning again." Junhui said cheekily. "Are you awake yet?"

"Wonwoo's in the bathroom. Did you...?" Mingyu whispered while stepping out of his room.

Junhui took out the small bottle, presenting it to Mingyu. "Have I ever disappointed you?" he asked teasingly.

Mingyu took the vial carefully, smiling timidly at Junhui.

The knight smiled back. "If you want me to explain how to apply-" he began but he was immediately cut off by the other.

"No thank you!" Mingyu said hastily, his cheeks red. “It's already mortifying I made you buy that. I think I can figure the rest by myself.”

"Have fun with that." Junhui winked, just in time Wonwoo emerged from the bathroom.

When he noticed Junhui on the door, he approached the two friends and wrapped an arm around Mingyu waist.

"Good morning Junhui." he said and then turned to his boyfriend, whose arm had sneakily disappeared behind his back. "What you got there?" he asked, nuzzling his other arm.

"N-nothing important love." Mingyu said airily.

Junhui tried to hide a smirk. "Anyway." he clapped his hands. "Get ready. We have a date at the springs in less than an hour." he declared.

"Date?" Wonwoo questioned.

"Mingming has a day off today and I invited him to relax with us." Junhui explained.

"Oh." Wonwoo smiled. "Nice."

"Let's go get ready then." Mingyu back-hugged Wonwoo and dragged him back inside. "We'll meet you downstairs. Oh, and hyung... Thanks." he whispered the last part.

"No problem dear." Junhui winked once again and turned around to reenter his room. "Haohao~"

"I'm up, I'm up." the prince answered, his voice noticeably more stable. "What did you get Mingyu?" he asked, having heard the conversation.

"Nothing important. Just a small, tiny thing that will make them stay inside their room for the rest of our staying here." Junhui snickered.

"Oh my god." Minghao snorted. "Look at you, being a good hyung to Mingyu." he cooed.

"Always my little prince, always." Junhui replied.

Minghao was considerably more relaxed that morning than he had been the previous day. Junhui secretly hoped it remained that way, without Minghao letting his thoughts consume him again.

"Come on, get ready to go to the springs. Let's go have some fun." Junhui continued with a smile.

"Alright." Minghao said and entered the bathroom so he could get ready.

Twenty minutes later, and both Junhui and Minghao were climbing the stairs down, going towards the hot springs. Mingyu and Wonwoo were already there, waiting for them at the small corridor so they could all enter together.

They disposed their clothes to the baskets, without the previous day's embarrassment, and showered quickly. Junhui decided to keep his towel on this time. He didn't want to risk Minghao's calm mood and he didn't want to give the wrong impression to Mingming either.

"The sun is so bright today. I feel I'm going to get boiled alive in those springs." the prince said jokingly, walking out to the yard.

"Don't worry the trees provide enough shade to the ponds, so you will be perfectly fine." another voice sounded from behind them.

The prince whipped his head around so fast, he almost lost his balance. Junhui placed an arm on his back to steady him.

"Hello again Mingming." he said in Korean, respecting the two who didn't understand their native language.

"Hello Junhui." the stableboy smiled. "Hello everyone."

"Good morning." Wonwoo replied and the other two waved at him.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Mingming asked as he gestured at them to continue inside the springs.

He looked very bright, Junhui noticed. He skin was tanned, even though it wasn't summer yet, and his body was in good shape. His black hair fell over his eyes, giving him an air of innocence. He looked like he belonged below the sun.

"We woke up later than we had anticipated so we didn’t have the chance." Junhui answered.

"Oh maybe we can go later and grab something to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day Junhui. Don't you know that?" Mingming teased.

Junhui chuckled. "Of course. How could I ever forget?" he said, scanning around the yard to spot an empty pond.

"There's one there." Mingyu pointed behind him.

Mingyu seemed a little too shy for his usual social personality. Junhui knew that normally by now, he would have been best friends with the stable boy.

"Let's head there then." Wonwoo said walking first, followed by his tail.

"Excuse their low energy, they just woke up." Junhui said to Mingming.

The boy chuckled. "I can see his bed hair. Amazing. Wonwoo was his name, right?" he asked Junhui quietly, but Mingyu heard.

He immediately quickened his step and placed an arm around Wonwoo's shoulder, guiding him towards the direction of the pool. Junhui snickered at the display. At least Mingyu wasn't being too obvious this time.

"Yeah, his name is Wonwoo. The taller one is Mingyu and that's Minghao, in case you forgot." he quickly re-introduced his friends.

"Oh, another non-Korean name." Mingming commented. "Is he from Zhanshi too?" he asked as they approached the small pod.

"No, but I can speak the language." Minghao replied in Mandarin as he came to walk next to him.

"Yet another pleasant surprise. Hello Minghao! It's such a pleasure meeting you both." Mingming said enthusiastically, smiling wide as he looked between the two.

Junhui chuckled at his energy. The boy was refreshing to be around.

When they reached the edge of the pool, Mingyu and Wonwoo were already sitting inside. _Too close_ , Junhui thought, but he couldn't comment on it with Mingming next to him. He instead dipped a finger in the warm water, testing the temperature.

"Get inside, before I push you." Minghao said from behind him, flicking his shoulder. He was still smiling calmly though.

Junhui gasped. "Hao, would you do something like that to me?" he said dramatically.

"No pushing allowed inside the spring area." Mingming said, with a fake formal voice.

Junhui grinned at him. "My hero."

Mingming stood in front of Junhui buffing his torso, trying to seem more imposing. "I will protect you." he then said in lower voice.

Minghao rolled his eyes as he stepped inside the pool. He went to sit with Mingyu and Wonwoo, very close to them, so their own closeness wouldn't look out of place.

 _So he noticed it too,_ Junhui thought with a dash of pride. But he should have expected it, Minghao was always really good at observing his surroundings.

Junhui stepped in the water, sitting comfortably opposite the prince, followed by the stable boy.

"So," Mingming addressed the whole group," how did you all meet with each other?" he asked conversationally.

The four exchanged a look. Well that was something they hadn't thought they would need. A back story. Then again, they didn't know they would meet someone who would be interested in them. Junhui made a face towards Minghao, urging him to let out his _incredibly convincing_ talking abilities.

"Well," the prince began, noticing the signal. "We're all travelers. Some of us have been away from home a very long time. Junhui here left Zhanshi six years ago, when he was only fifteen." Minghao played on the obvious liking the stable boy had taken to Junhui. "One night at a pub, he met Wonwoo and Mingyu. Where was the pub located again? I always forget." he turned to ask Wonwoo, the most decent one at making up stories.

"Ha Inn, Minghao. How many times have we told you that?" the other laughed lightly getting in his role right away.

Mingyu gave a lovesick smile at the sound of his boyfriend’s laughter and Junhui elbowed him discreetly.

"Yes, Ha Inn." Junhui confirmed, not really knowing where that place was located. "Have you ever been there, Mingming?" he asked the boy.

"No. Actually, I haven't left the inn since I came here." Mingming answered with a tight smile.

Junhui made a face. "How old are you Mingming?" he asked gently.

"I'm twenty. Gē."

Junhui smiled at him sweetly, immediately reminded of Xuxi and Sicheng. He had missed being called with that title. He had accepted that Minghao would never call him that. When Junhui glanced at him, the prince was rolling his eyes, as expected.

"Anyway." Minghao cleared his throat. "I was the last to join the group. I'm from Gisa. That's why I have an accent when speaking Mandarin." he said, bringing the mood back to a lighter level.

"This is really interesting. So, you're the only foreigner amongst them.” Mingming addressed Junhui. “How come you came here at that age?" Mingming asked him sweetly.

"Zhanshi was too small for me, I guess. There is so much of the world to see." he replied, not completely lying.

"So poetic." the other hummed.

"Don't you like poetry?" Junhui asked, tilting his head.

"I love it actually. I have read tones of poems in all my years here. It helps my imagination to run free." Mingming replied dreamily.

"Oh? What kind of imagination?" Junhui smirked, perching his elbows to support himself at edge of the pool.

"Every kind." Mingming smirked back.

Wonwoo and Mingyu exchanged a look, probably sensing something familiar in the feeling of this conversation.

"Mingming, why did you leave Zhanshi?" Mingyu asked, drawing the attention to him.

"I don't remember, I was really young when I came here. Grandma always said that we had a tough time there since my parents died." Mingming replied with a shrug.

"As beautiful as Zhanshi is, it is not meant for orphans." Junhui agreed.

"You had a similar experience as well?" Mingming asked him, looking a bit concerned.

"Let's just say that I left for a reason." Junhui chuckled lightly.

The knight could feel Minghao's eyes on him. Wonwoo and Mingyu must have assumed that he was making the story up, but the prince knew better.

"Well you know what. I always try to look at the bright side of things. If you haven't come here, you wouldn't have met such wonderful people." Mingming smiled. "And I, in my turn, would have never met you."

Junhui smiled as his mind traveled back at the first time he met with each one of his three friends. How awkward Wonwoo was standing outside the garden’s gate, or how excited Mingyu seemed when he learned Junhui was a knight, and how awful was his start with Minghao. The knight sneaked a glance at the prince. Maybe from now on things would be different.  


~*~

There was no mistaking now as for what was happening.

Minghao frowned and glanced at the other two uncertainly. Mingyu looked at Wonwoo with wide eyes but the other just gave him a calming smile. It was no time to make a big deal out of it.

Junhui after a small pause, laughed quietly. "That's true. You always meet the best people when you travel." he nodded.

"Tell me about it." the stableboy said and leaned further back in Junhui’s space.

Minghao didn't want to stare. In the beginning, he had thought he had been mistaken. But after Mingyu's reaction, there was no room for doubt. He shuffled further in the water uncomfortably, waving goodbye to his peaceful morning.

The prince all this time believed that he would never meet a person that could annoy him as much as the Chinese knight did. But it turned out that Mingming was more annoying than Junhui.

"My hands are getting wrinkly again." Mingyu commented, back to his comfortable self and checking his deformed skin.

"It's because the water here is warm. You skin soaks it up faster." Wonwoo explained, grabbing his hand and holding it over his legs.

Minghao gapped. Not Wonwoo too. It was natural for Mingyu to not be able to hold his hands to himself, but Wonwoo too? Everyone seemed to be getting too comfortable too quickly. Everyone except from him.

"I'm starting to get hungry." Junhui complained. "Should we go for food after our soaking session?"

"Yes." Mingming readily agreed. "You should try our pear tart. It's really sweet, and you seem to like sweet things."

Minghao was especially bothered at how comfortable Mingming seemed to be with the knight.

"I'm that obvious?" he heard Junhui saying, and his frown deepened more.

"It's cute." Mingming blatantly said and Mingyu let out a small giggle.

"I'm sorry uhhh..." he said when all eyes fell on him. "Wonwoo, you should also try that pear tart, yeah?" he rubbed his neck with his hand, his expression knowing.

Wonwoo tried to hide his smile, because that was too obvious, even for Mingyu. If they had misjudged anything, they could be in real trouble right now.

"You two seem really close." Mingming then commented, his tone not betraying whether he meant it innocently or in understanding.

"We’ve been friends for many years." Wonwoo replied easily.

"It must be nice to have someone so close to you for so long. _True brothers_." Mingming hummed and Minghao decided that _no_ , he didn't like him.

There was no way he could be so clueless when he talked to Junhui like that. If Minghao was in his place, he too would have said something baiting, just to see how the others would react. Minghao really didn't like him.

So, it was greatly disappointing that after their visit at the hot springs ended, Mingming came to eat with them as well. Mingyu and Wonwoo seemed to like him, judging by the small talks they made with him, but Minghao wasn't so concerned about them. His problem for some reason was with Junhui.

Had he understood what Mingming was doing? Had he realized how close they were sitting on the table? Did he intentionally smile when the boy called him ‘gē’? And above all, how was he _still_ so comfortable with him?

Junhui pissed Minghao off so much. The world could be ending two steps away from him, but he would still keep that little smile.

As much as he hated to think about or admit it, Junhui had done something important the previous night. Minghao had finally felt like they were getting a little closer, a tiny step. But now Junhui was not only comfortable with another man flirting with him, he seemed to like it too.

Did the knight even like men? And if he did, was Minghao even worth his time to tell him? The prince felt like he would never get to really know Junhui, no matter how hard he tried. And the saddest part was that he was beginning to consider Junhui a part of their little team. Despite all their troubles between them, Junhui was there in his heart, just like Mingyu and Wonwoo. Just the four of them, and a pretty stable boy had no place there with them.

Minghao blinked, dumbfounded at his own thoughts. Why would something as simple as a flirty behaviour made him feel so angry Perhaps it wasn’t the flirting though, that would be too petty, even for Minghao. A voice in his head was telling him that the real problem here was something different.

Why was it so easy for Junhui to communicate and get close to Mingming, yet he was _struggling_ so much with him? Why should Minghao always _try_ to communicate with Junhui, while a merely stableboy was doing it so easily. The prince frowned again at the sudden thoughts. Why he kept thinking so much about it? Was he maybe… _jealous_? No way.

"Hey, are you not hungry?" Mingyu leaned close to him with worried eyes.

"Not really. Maybe the heat caught up with me." Minghao tried to smile at his friend.

"It's not that hot in here though." Mingyu continued.

"I'm fine Mingyu, drop it." Minghao said, losing his patience much quicker than he would have liked.

Mingyu eyed him but he did what he was told. He leaned back at his seat catching up with the conversation Mingming and Junhui had.

Wonwoo was the next to notice that Minghao wasn't eating. When he caught his eyes, Minghao just shook his head and the knight didn't pressure him anymore. Again, it was only stupid Junhui who didn't notice, too caught up in his little happy world with Mingming.

After their meal, they went for a ride around the springs. Mingming had successfully convinced his friends that he could show them around the mountain. The prince couldn't deny how magnificent the view from up there was, with the peaceful atmosphere. But his mind was still stuck on Junhui. How could it not be, considering the fact that the knight was riding right in front of him, with the stable boy close beside him?

When they finished their small tour, they took one more turn in the springs and just like that, the evening passed and veil of darkness fell around them

So here Minghao was, perched in his little balcony, making sure Mingyu and Wonwoo wouldn't repeat the previous night's adventure.

These two had been so obvious in that damn forest. After some point, Minghao stopped trying to get them to be discreet altogether. There was no point to it, Minghao was almost certain that Mingming had surely realized something. But instead on pointing anything out, the stableboy was encouraged more. He too was getting bolder as the time passed. His moves were small and subtle, like holding Junhui's reigns to guide him over a rocky area, or casually bumping hips when they took a rest. And Minghao hated it.

The only thing that Minghao hated more than those subtle attempts, was the fact that he _noticed_ them in the first place.

No scratch that, there was one more thing that that he despised right now and that was Junhui himself. The knight was laying on their bed flat like a starfish, looking at the ceiling as he tried to make small talk with the prince by throwing him questions. Minghao ignored him completely.

"Minghao what's wrong?" the knight asked after the seventh question Minghao didn't answer.

"Nothing." he decided to reply to the eighth answer, so hopefully Junhui could get the message that he didn't want to talk.

But Junhui was Junhui, and that meant that he wouldn't, of course, stop talking.

"But you seem distressed. What's on your mind? You know you can tell me." he said, standing up from the bed.

"I can't." Minghao replied simply, his eyes locked on the pools.

Junhui then stood up and walked towards him, sitting on the chair, like he had the previous night. "Since when?" he asked confused.

"Since ever. We can't communicate, I thought you knew it already." the prince answered curtly.

"Yes, I knew it. That's why we said we should try to fix it. And we are doing progress." Junhui explained clearly confused.

"Why bother? There will always be better people to talk to, people that you won't have to try so hard for everything." Minghao started, his voice sounding accusing without his permission.

"Minghao other people don't matter. Mingyu, Wonwoo and you do. So why are you saying that?" Junhui asked again, his face falling a little.

"It didn't seem like it all day today." he mumbled and as the words left his lips, he hated himself.

It was one thing to be silently mad with Junhui until he got over it and they went back to giving each other the cold shoulder, and another to start sounding like a jealous boyfriend.

Junhui's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. You mean Mingming? Hey, I wasn't the only one talking with him." Junhui whined.

"It's okay." Minghao forced himself to say. "It's really okay, I don't care. You can keep 'talking' with him, it's not my place to judge."

Great, now he was becoming passive aggressive. How could Junhui always bring out the worst in him?

"Minghao calm down. I don't want to argue. I'm just trying to understand what happened." the other voiced calmly.

That fueled Minghao even more. "Stop being so calm, will you?" he finally raised his voice.

Junhui was stunned into silence, until they heard the door of Wonwoo and Mingyu's balcony beginning to open.

"Inside. Now." Minghao hissed, dragging Junhui in and closing the door before their friends could see them.

"Hey, stop dragging me." Junhui took his hand off. "What's the problem Minghao?" the knight asked, more serious now.

"I don't know, okay? I guess I realized that we have absolutely no chance of ever getting closer and it pisses me off." he said, giving in to his negative emotions.

It wasn't like he had been able hide many things from Junhui before, and this was no different. Even though he tried to keep his feelings and concerns to himself, the other always found a way to make the prince spill them.

"What are you talking about? Last night we were fine, right? We did get closer. What happened and changed your mind?" Junhui tried to reason.

"You said you wouldn't talk about last night." Minghao only got madder. "But it's okay, I won't expect _anything_ from you from now on. Lesson learned."

And instantly, Minghao regretted uttering those words, because right then and there it was the first time that he saw Junhui's face spasming with pure anger and disappointment.

"I should be the one saying that! At least I’m trying to do something to keep things light between us! You on the other hand just flat out don’t care about what comes out of your mouth!”

“Don’t blame me!” Minghao put his hands up. “How can you expect me to warm up to you when you can’t express yourself properly? And I don’t mean the happy and untroubled face you put in front of Mingyu and Wonwoo.”

“What are you talking about!?” Junhui looked at him intensely.

“Do you like men? Did anyone know that!?” Minghao began raising his voice.

There was no going back now. They were indeed standing hundreds of meters apart, their only way of communication the screams.

And so scream they would.

"I don't express myself?! Look who’s taking! If I recall correctly you know more things about me than I do about you! Who is the one that doesn't open his mouth for anything other than judging and criticizing? Not me!" Junhui shouted back.

“You don’t understand. You never have!” Minghao accused.

“What I understand is that you’re changing your mind about me all the time and it’s getting tiring! What else do you want from me?” Junhui’s voice cracked a little.

“I wanted things to work out for once, but the more I look at you the less I feel like I understand you! _This_ is what is tiring in this friendship! Constantly trying to figure you out!” Minghao crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Do you realize how stupid this argument is?” Junhui closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I know you as much as you know me, but I’m not complaining.”

"You've seen so much more of me than I have seen of you! I don't have a tragic back story Junhui! My mom died and that's it. I wanted out of the castle, oh look at that, I'm out now! You know the important things, you see them every day. I don't know shit about you, expect the things you _chose_ to tell me about your past! It’s like you have a façade, and I don’t know why I’m the only one who sees it!”

It really was stupid. Minghao knew that he shouldn’t be yelling, but he couldn’t help it. He just felt so frustrated with everything that was happening, with himself. He felt like he was losing a battle, its nature unknown to him, and right now, Junhui was a wild variable that he felt the need to get rid of.

“And frankly, I don't _care_ anymore. Go talk with Mingming I'm sure he would enjoy that!" Minghao added the biggest dose of irony he could in his voice, as he yelled those last words. This was what he had been reduced to. Being _jealous_ of a stupid stable boy.

Junhui just stood there in silence for a few seconds, as shocked as one would expect. Then he clenched his fists decisively. "Alright then." he said, and in two seconds he was out of the room, banging the door behind him.

"And stay out!" Minghao yelled at the closed door.

He instantly turned around and kicked the bedside table, sending the lantern to the ground and plunging the room in darkness. The sudden absence of light was exactly what he was feeling after all.

Minghao yelled and groaned as he made his way to the bed. He fell on it clumsily, clutching that one pillow in his arms. His emotions were so built up and mixed together that tears started slipping out of his eyes.

He didn’t want to cry for Junhui, absolutely not, but it would be too painful to keep it all in. So he let himself cry, not wanting to get hurt any further than he already was.

Stupid, stupid Junhui. How calmly he had sung to him the previous night and how awfully he screamed at him tonight. Minghao knew it was his own fault, he had started it, but that conflict would have come up sooner or later, whether he kept it bottled up like everything else or let Junhui know what he was thinking. There was no way he could keep his feelings concealed around Junhui. And they had no other way to deal with their differences than fighting.

Tonight though, especially with the previous night's memory fresh in his mind, Minghao felt like things have gotten too far.

Both Junhui and he were at a dead end. He didn't know what else to do. When they seemed to do something right, it always just backfired. Deep inside, Minghao knew why Mingming bothered him so much. Only a few hours before they met him, Junhui's whole attention had been on him. Junhui had finally managed to calm his raging mind down so sweetly, but the next morning he was flirting with another person.

How immature of Minghao was to be annoyed by that? Junhui wasn't his. This attachment was as sudden as it was illogical.

"I do care though. I really do." he sobbed.

He tried to take a deep breath, but it was shaky. He was so tired of this whole situation, which could only mean one thing.

He was overthinking things again. It wasn't illogical that he was attached to Junhui. He loved Mingyu, and he kinda loved Wonwoo too now. Junhui was a part of him as much as the other two. He did care about him, no matter how much they triggered one another, and that was a fact that he didn’t need to question.

Maybe the key to getting closer to him would be to show him that first. Yes, trusting each other was important, but apparently it was not enough. They had to talk again and figure things out. Minghao had to apologize at some point, and the sooner he did the better. But would the other even want to talk to him anymore?

~*~

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard and Minghao's yell followed. "And stay out!" What followed was not an equally enraged reply, but furious footsteps fading away.

Mingyu turned to Wonwoo. "What should we do about them?" he asked concerned.

Wonwoo sighed from the bed he was sitting on, bringing his knees below his chin. The wall that separated the two bedrooms had not been enough to muffle the screams. Maybe Mingyu and he hadn’t been able to make out the exact words, but they had felt the fight. The anger was practically oozing through the rocky surface.

"They looked fine in the morning. Do you think it was Mingming?" he wondered.

"It could be possible. You believe that Minghao can be jealous?" Mingyu hummed thoughtfully.

"Of Mingming?" Wonwoo frowned, arching an eyebrow.

He wanted to say it was impossible. He wanted to say that Minghao and Junhui didn't like each other enough for jealousy to be included in their fights. He didn't know what stopped him from saying it though.

"If he was, then maybe this was what set them off, but they must have had other reasons too. They're not children. You don't fight so bad for something as petty as jealousy." he said in the end.

"You think so?" Mingyu tilted his head to look at him thoughtfully. "Maybe you're right. But I still wonder what made them fight like that."

"They're so terrible at communicating. Sometimes I feel guilty that they are forced to spend so time together because of us." Wonwoo said with another frown.

Mingyu hummed. "I would like not to think about that..." he whispered and scooted closer to his boyfriend.

It pulled a smile out of Wonwoo, like every little thing Mingyu did. He wrapped his arms around Mingyu's neck, inviting him even closer.

"What would you like to think about then?" he asked sweetly.

Mingyu smirked. "Hmm...you." he said and started nosing at Wonwoo's cheek. "In my arms. Moaning my name." he kissed his jawline.

"That’s very specific. Have you been thinking about it for a long time?" Wonwoo closed his eyes, enjoying the soft sensation.

"Do you want me to stop?" Mingyu asked, biting his ear.

Wonwoo felt a shiver running down his spine. "Would you, if I asked you to?”

"Of course.” Mingyu paused instantly, pulling back to look him in the eyes. “I would never do anything you don't want." he said seriously.

Wonwoo grabbed his cheeks and kissed him hard. He loved hearing things like that. They hadn't explicitly talked about it, but Wonwoo knew what position he wanted to be in if things became more serious. This was just the right amount of power he wanted. The power to control Mingyu's desire. If Wonwoo decided to let it consume him, then he would let him have his way however he wanted.

"And what if I don't want you to stop?" he asked with low voice.

"Then I won't stop. Not until the only thing you know is my name." the footman growled deep. His eyes were full of lust. Mingyu waited for that night since they first made their bond solid. He wanted Wonwoo to be his. And the day has come.

"Then you have a lot of work to do." Wonwoo smirked at him, laying down on the bed, dragging Mingyu above him.

"With pleasure." Mingyu smirked and locked his lips with Wonwoo's in a passionate kiss. He then started unbuttoning Wonwoo's shirt as the knight thread his fingers through his brown locks.

Much like the rest of their relationship, everything was fast, from the way they removed their clothes, to the way Mingyu littered love bites around Wonwoo's neck. It was effortless, the way they fitted together, no need for verbal communication to decide things. And most of all, it was entirely consuming. Once they started there was no going back.

When both of them were completely naked Mingyu placed his arms under Wonwoo's slim body and dragged him on his lap. Wonwoo placed his knees at each side of Mingyu's folded legs making him stand a little taller.

"I always end up on your lap, don't I?" he let out a breathy laugh, that was cut off when Mingyu touched his member.

"You never complain about it." Mingyu said, grabbing both their cocks in one hand. "Tell me how much you want to be in my lap baby." he smirked.

"So so much. It feels like heaven sitting on your strong thighs." Wonwoo moaned softly.

"Good reply." Mingyu whispered to his ear, lazily pumping both of them. "We're going to have so much fun tonight." he murmured, his voice sending waking goosebumps all over Wonwoo's body.

"Yes. I want to have fun please make me feel good." the knight groaned, bouncing lightly on Mingyu's lap.

"Easy baby. Don't want you to cum so soon." Mingyu kissed his neck, holding his hip to keep him in place.

For how sweet their relationship usually was, it was insane what a sudden turn it took at times like those. It left them no time to catch their breath.

"But your hand feels so good Gyu I can't help it." Wonwoo left a pleased sound.

"Mmm we have to do something about that dirty little mouth." Mingyu said and pecked Wonwoo's lips.

Wonwoo looked him in the eyes and smirked. He quickly stopped bouncing and leaned in Mingyu's ear.

"You can shut me up if you want. You have the way to fill my mouth so I can't talk." he whispered seductively.

Mingyu's lust filled haze momentarily broke as he made eye contact with Wonwoo, his love for him shining through. He smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Show me baby." he whispered in his ear.

Wonwoo grinned and stood up, climbing down from the bed. He then took Mingyu's hand and encouraged him to sit at the edge of the mattress. Wonwoo kneeled in front of him and placed his hands on the footman’s kneecaps, pulling his legs open. He shuffled forward, placing a peck on Mingyu’s abs.

"You can hold my hair if you want." he informed, before taking a first taste of his lover's member.

Mingyu jolted at the contract Wonwoo's wet tongue made with his length. He felt the Wonwoo giving kitten licks at the base and head of his cock, focusing on his slit.

Mingyu's hand shot at his lover's hair, but he kept his grip light, encouraging. This should be Wonwoo's first time giving a blow job, Mingyu mind managed to provide before Wonwoo took the red tip of his member in his mouth and sucked lightly.

With his other hand, Wonwoo teased Mingyu's balls, making him leave out a throaty growl. He shucked and licked the tip, sweeping with his tongue every drop of precum that left the small slit.

When he decided that was enough, he lightly gripped the base of Mingyu's cock and started taking more of him in his mouth. To Mingyu's amazement, he maintained eye contact while doing so.

"Fuck, you're so hot." Mingyu breathed, wiping a drop of saliva from Wonwoo's chin.

Wonwoo moaned sending vibrations on Mingyu's cock. He heard him hissing and smiled. His right hand came to touch whatever his mouth couldn't fit as he started bobbing his head slowly.

"Mmm yeah, like that love." Mingyu said, unconsciously pulling Wonwoo's hair a bit, helping him build a rhythm.

Wonwoo moaned again. He licked the underside of Mingyu's dick, getting another pleasured sound out of his mouth.

The knight continued his ministrations bringing Mingyu more to the edge as the time passed.

At some point the footman patted his head to get his attention. "I think this is enough." he whispered.

"Don't you wanna cum?" Wonwoo asked confused.

"I have something better for today." Mingyu winked and lifted him off the floor.

Wonwoo sat back on the bed, admiring Mingyu's behind as he went to his bag and retrieved something. He then walked back to Wonwoo, climbing above him. He pecked and bit .

"Look." he said, leaning back to give space for his lover to see what he was holding.

It was a small vial, filled with the aromatic oil. Wonwoo took the cap off, and the smell of vanilla flied the air between them.

"I was thinking that if you want, we can go all the way tonight." Mingyu said softly, vastly different from his previous behaviour.

Wonwoo smiled fondly. "Of course I want to. But just so you know I'm a little anxious.” he said, kissing the other on the lips. “I trust you Mingyu."

"I'll take care of you." Mingyu said. "I told you, by the end of this, my name will be the only thing you can say." he added and deepened the kiss once again.

Mingyu pushed Wonwoo lightly by the shoulders making him lay down again without breaking the kiss. His hands roamed all over Wonwoo's body, touching every corner of it. The knight sighed in pleasure.

Mingyu’s kisses trailed down his neck and collarbones. He gave his cock a few tugs, to get him to ease whatever tension he might have had, but Wonwoo had none. His body was soft and pliant under Mingyu.

"I'll take care of you so good." he mumbled against Wonwoo's chest, taking a nipple in his mouth and sucking.

Wonwoo hissed in delight. His fingers flew in Mingyu's dark locks massaging his sculp lightly. He felt the younger trailing down leaving a path of small bite marks behind, until he reached his center.

Mingyu grabbed Wonwoo's thighs and placed them on his shoulders. He then looked down on Wonwoo, making the knight blush a little.

"You look so sexy baby." he growled and lowered his head to place a kiss on Wonwoo's member. His tongue started trailing further down until it reached just above the knight’s hole.

Mingyu hummed under his breath, before giving the ring muscle a swap to test the waters. Wonwoo hissed, jerking his hips with a muffled sound.

"It's so warm." he groaned.

Mingyu smirked and continued mouthing the rim, diving his tongue inside from time to time until Wonwoo became a moaning mess.

With Wonwoo like that, Mingyu carefully opened the cap of the vial again and poured a generous amount to his pointer finger. He didn't warn Wonwoo before placing his fingertip at his entrance, slowly moving it around together with his tongue.

Wonwoo didn't react, clearly unaware of the new addition. Mingyu then moved to suck his balls and that was when Wonwoo understood what was about to happen.

"Love." he breathed and Mingyu raised has eyes. "I'm ready do it." he simply voiced.

Mingyu hummed back and started peppering Wonwoo's inner thighs with kisses, while slowly pushing the tip of his finger inside the velvet heat. The beginning was the hardest part, and he wanted to make sure Wonwoo was as relaxed as possible.

As expected, the knight stiffened at the sudden pressure. He took a few breaths willing to relax himself as much as possible. It burned and it was weird. But Wonwoo was patient and he trusted the footman. Mingyu knew what he was doing.

Mingyu noticed the little clench, so he poured a bit more oil to the place his finger was entering Wonwoo. Some of it dripping on the white seats but Mingyu couldn't care less.

Mingyu shuffled up, taking Wonwoo’s length between his lips, sucking gently as he moved his finger a tiny bit deeper.

All the pleasure that Mingyu was giving him made him relax completely. So much that Wonwoo didn't realize when the other's finger was completely inside him.

"So good, so open for me." Mingyu said as he lazily licked Wonwoo's read head.

Wonwoo felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead. If he wanted to be completely honest the knight had thought this going to hurt, that he would have to be patient and endure it. He clearly wasn't prepared for this mind-numbing pleasure, that made the borders between pain and relief hazy.

"Mingyu please..." he started begging. But he didn't know what he was asking for. He just wanted Mingyu to continue.

"What do you want baby. Tell me." Mingyu asked with a gruff voice.

"Touch me, move, I don't know..." Wonwoo whined and Mingyu twisted his finger inside him, making a loud moan push through his lips.

Wonwoo felt his body seizing in pleasure. It was sudden and intense, like a bucket full of cold water was dropped over him.

"There Mingyu! Again." he huffed his chest contracting from his rapid breathing.

"What is it?" Mingyu twisted his finger again, making Wonwoo see stars.

"P-prostate." he managed to stutter. "I-it's this male body part- ah!" Mingyu didn't let him finish as he attacked the spot again with a smirk.

He rubbed and teased the small nerve muscle, making Wonwoo shout with pleasure. After a while, when Mingyu believed that Wonwoo was loose enough, he dipped his middle finger in vial and returned it to the hole.

"Wonwoo love. I'm putting one more." he warned.

Wonwoo could only hum, his head lolling to the side, eyes closed. He then felt Mingyu’s teeth trapping a piece of his creamy thigh between them, biting there as he inserted the second finger.

The footman sucked the skin, then soothed it with his tongue and when he was finished leaving his mark, his second finger had joined the first. Wonwoo didn't make a peep of complain. Mingyu pulled both is fingers back and gently thrusted them right onto Wonwoo's prostate, keeping the pressure there.

"Fuck, Mingyu! I'm gonna cum, I’m gonna cum." Wonwoo clenched his fists at the sheet that was pooled around him.

"No you won't." Mingyu said and took Wonwoo's legs from his shoulders. "If you cum. I will have to punish you." he whispered, leaning close to his ear.

Wonwoo moaned again, wrapping his hands around Mingyu's neck.

"I'm so close..." he whined, his arms trembling.

Mingyu stopped messing with Wonwoo's sweet spot, but continued thrusting his fingers in and out, trying to loosen the knight’s hole as much as possible. He quickly put a third finger in too. Wonwoo was still clinging to him, breathing harshly. Whimpers and small sounds left his throat, making Mingyu’s own erection twitch. Wonwoo was a wet mess because of him.

"You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen." Mingyu told him, kissing his sweaty cheekbone.

"M-Mingyu..." Wonwoo managed to say between his shallow breaths.

"Yes love?" Mingyu answered biting his jawline.

"I want… _you_. N-no fingers." he mumbled, spreading his legs a bit more.

Mingyu's guts clenched at the sound of Wonwoo's pleadings. "As you wish baby." he whispered and pecked his lips.

The footman slowly took his fingers out and snatched the vial again. He lathered his cock with oil, pouring a bit over Wonwoo's heat too. They had used quiet enough, the small vial was half empty. Mingyu noticed Wonwoo's half lidded eyes following his movements, then trailing up and down his body hungrily.

"Like what you see baby?" he said with a smirk.

"A lot." Wonwoo whispered and move his fingers to touch himself.

"Nuh uh." Mingyu grabbed his hand and pinned it above his head. "Only I'm allowed to touch you." he growled in Wonwoo's ear and bit his earlobe.

"Mingyu come on. I can't take it anymore." Wonwoo whined, clearly pushed to his limits.

"Alright baby." Mingyu said softly and lined his cock with Wonwoo's hole. "Take a deep breath." he instructed.

Wonwoo obediently did, and Mingyu started pushing in. They both let out deep erotic sounds the moment their bodies connected. Mingyu had to pause, not because Wonwoo complained, but because he felt like was going to cum right there. His body had been on edge from the blowjob before. But frankly, he believed he could just cum from the sight of his handsome boyfriend, eyes closed tightly, sweat on his forehead and cheeks red from the heat.

"You're so tight." he groaned deeply. "I swear I'm gonna cum just like that." he continued as he pushed slowly inside stretching Wonwoo's walls.

Wonwoo didn't reply. He just bucked his hips up, making Mingyu get fully enveloped faster. Mingyu gasped surprised, almost dropping his weight on top of the older.

"Doesn't it hurt?" he found the will to ask.

Wonwoo didn't reply again, just held Mingyu's neck tighter. Mingyu kissed him, trying to get him to relax, though he knew that was impossible at this point.

"Mingyu..." Wonwoo finally spoke, and it was all Mingyu needed before he started moving.

The footman started building a slow, steady pace so he could let Wonwoo adjust to his size. That was it. The moment that Mingyu was waiting for all those months. They were finally connected. They were one. Mingyu felt so happy.

"I love you." he murmured and Wonwoo, despite being on edge physically, caressed his hair as a reply.

It was all over too fast. It was a miracle they had even lasted this long. All it took was for Mingyu to thrust against Wonwoo's prostate one more time.

"Ah, Mingyu!" Wonwoo shouted before he finished, cumming violently all over his stomach.

His whole body shook in Mingyu's arms, tears escaping his eyes from the pressure that he was releasing. He gripped Mingyu's back so tightly as he let out a string of moans, that he was sure he would leave marks.

Mingyu kept thrusting inside him, chasing his own release. It didn't last long because when Wonwoo finally came down from his high, he clenched around Mingyu's cock causing him to cum inside him with a deep groan.

Mingyu buried his nose in the crook of the night’s neck, as he rode his orgasm. His arms were shaking, but he didn't want to place any weight on Wonwoo, so he tried to hold on.

"Are you okay love?" he asked sweetly, kissing the other's forehead.

"Mm Mingyu..." Wonwoo merely mumbled.

"See, I told you that you would only say my name." the footman chuckled and pecked his lips sweetly.

With gentle moves he slipped out of Wonwoo, making the knight stifle a groan. Mingyu stood up on his wobbly legs and went towards the small bathroom. A moment after he came out, a small wet towel in his arm. He kneeled close to Wonwoo again spreading his legs gently.

Wonwoo was very compliant, trusting Mingyu to the very end. The footman wiped him as clean as he could, before cleaning himself. He also tried to get the oil off the sheets it had, but it was impossible with only water. The cleaning ladies of the inn would surely have a great time tomorrow.

Wonwoo still hadn't moved, but he had opened his eye, looking at the footman lovingly. Mingyu decided to drop everything and went to cuddle with his lover. He would deal with the rest in the morning.

He lied next to Wonwoo and pulled him atop of his chest, his head resting under his chin, so his behind wouldn't hurt.

"So this happened." he whispered, running his fingers down the knight's back. "How was it?"

"It was perfect." Wonwoo whispered back, drawing small circles on the Mingyu’s broad torso.

"It fits you then." Mingyu chuckled and booped Wonwoo's nose with his fingertip.

The small smile Wonwoo gave back would have been enough to warm Mingyu's heart for the next five winters.

"I love you Mingyu. Thank you for everything." the knight said and gave him a small kiss.

"Thank you too, love." Mingyu let his hands massage the small of the other’s back.

A peaceful silence filled the space around them, interrupted only by the pattern of their breaths. Mingyu heaved a satisfied sigh, brushing Wonwoo’s bangs away from his face.

"Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?" he asked softly.

But Wonwoo didn't answer. The only think that came out of him it was small even breaths as his chest rose and fell. Mingyu smiled and pecked his forehead.

"Sweet dreams love. Sleep tight." he whispered sweetly.

~*~

It was very late. Minghao couldn't pinpoint how many hours exactly he had spent laying down on his bed, unable to sleep. The moon had gone down long ago, but there was no sign of the sky lightening up by the morning sun. It looked like the time had stopped, trapping Minghao in this state when he was too tired but too restless to sleep.

After all those hours, he had managed to stop thinking about what had happened a few hours before, instead focusing on his decision to be gentle with Junhui from now on. To show that he cared in a way the other would understand.

The prince sighed and rolled on his back, eyes falling n the empty space beside him. He found himself, unconsciously thinking that he actually wanted Junhui to be by his side. He wanted to feel what he had the previous night. He wanted Junhui to help him calm his racing mind and put him to sleep under the sound of his gentle humming.

But Junhui wasn't here. In fact, Minghao didn't even know if he was still around the inn. He sighed again. Maybe a walk would tire him out enough and help him sleep.

He got out of his bed with his head feeling heavy. He had cried for two nights in a row. And he didn't have a lantern to make his walk to the door easier. He tripped over the edge of the bed as he tried to walk to the door, but he didn't really get mad. He was too tired.

He quietly opened the door, but before he could take a step outside, he lowered his eyes to the ground and gaped at the sight before him. Junhui hadn't left the inn after all. He had chosen to curl up and sleep on the floor right outside their door.

That filled Minghao with hope. If Junhui intended to give up on him he wouldn't have returned to their room in the middle of the night, would he? Minghao crouched down next to him, deciding to finally act on the decision he had made.

"Junhui?" he whispered and gently shook the knight's arm.

Junhui made a small sound of distress. Minghao noticed that his eyes were puffy and tear tracks were decorating his red cheeks. He felt like his heart breaking a little. Clearly, he wasn't the only one that had been affected by their argument.

"Junhui come on, let's go inside." he said again, patting the knight's chocolate brown locks.

This time Junhui blinked his eyes open. He looked extremely disorientated, his eyes darting around until they fell on Minghao's face.

"Minghao?" he asked confused.

Minghao grabbed his hand. "Let's go to bed." he urged as he got up, pulling the knight along.

Junhui wobbled a bit, not awake enough to keep up with what was happening. Minghao then led him inside their room, sitting him down on the bed. He crouched in front of him to get his footwear off and then brought him a cup of water, their only source of light the stars outside.

Junhui went through every movement with unfocused eyes.

"I stayed." he mumbled softly.

"I know. Drink this." Minghao handed him the water.

Junhui obeyed and downed the water in one go. Then he gave the wooden cup back.

"Because I promised that I won't... I won't leave you." he voiced again.

Minghao pursed his lips. Yeah, he was definitely done hurting him. He stepped between Junhui’s legs and hugged him, like he had done back at the castle the night before they escaped. Like that time too, Junhui buried his head on his stomach.

"I'm sorry." Minghao said simply. He didn't want to expand now that Junhui would probably not even understand him. A simple apology would have to suffice until the next morning.

Minghao felt Junhui snuggling further in his stomach, probably unconsciously. He sighed and thread his fingers through his hair.

"Junhui come on. Let's go to sleep." he whispered.

"Mm." the knight agreed.

Minghao laid him back on the bed, making sure their only pillow was under his head, and pulled the sheets over his body. He then walked to his own side and climbed up as well, not minding that his only pillow would be his arms for the rest of the night.

"We'll talk tomorrow okay? Goodnight Junhui." he whispered in the darkness.

"Alright." Junhui sighed and scooted closer to the prince, their bodies only some centimeters apart.

Right then, the feeling of the previous night, that security and warmth came back. Despite the huge storm that passed over them, Minghao still felt safe with Junhui by his side. And even though he knew that more fights would follow in the future, in their attempt to fix the bond between them, Minghao would not complain as long as they always ended up like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm exhausted. So much smut... more than we actually intended to, and there's gonna be even more😂😂. So be prepared  
> But anyway, that was it for today guys!!!
> 
> So, before I leave you I would like to say a BIG thank you to all those people that leave those wonderful and inspiring comments. They really mean a lot. They are encouraging and really sweet. So thank you again so much.💜💜
> 
> Waiting for more alright!!!! And of course whoever wants to write anything or even ask, feel free!!!😍
> 
> So, until the next update; take care, have fun and strong and healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	19. Be true

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to all the beautiful people out there!!!  
> Once again, the week ends and one more chapter is out!!
> 
> This time we don't have clarificatons or warnings, so let's get down to the storyyy!!!
> 
> Without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

The morning didn't delay coming. Less than four hours after Minghao dragged Junhui in their room, the sunrays creeped inside from the wooden windows.

The knight groaned at the sudden sunlight that hit his face. He blinked repeatedly, his eyes darting around confused as to why he was on his bed instead of the floor. He clearly remembered that last night, after his fight with Minghao he had decided to sleep _outside_ the door. He had concluded, after hours of debating his options, that there was no point leaving the inn.

He knew that Minghao was going to give him the cold shoulder for the rest of their lives. But he couldn't care less. If the prince wanted to stop talking to him, he could feel free to do it. Junhui though wasn't like that. He would keep talking, acting like nothing had happened even though he would feel like talking to a wall.

Sleeping on the floor outside Minghao's room seemed like a great physical representation of what was going to be happening from now, so he had decided to start embracing it. That was his thought at least.

So then, what was he doing not only inside the room, but also tucked in the bed?

Junhui heard an annoyed grumble next to him as the sunrays hit Minghao's face too. The prince was right next to him, head flat on the mattress because Junhui occupied the only pillow. The knight felt really lost.

"Minghao?" he said, his voice still groggy from sleep.

"No. Too early. Five more minutes." the other mumbled with a frown, rising the covers more in an attempt to conceal his eyes from the morning light.

Junhui heaved a sigh. Here it was again, that creepy fondness that despite everything, made Junhui still smile at Minghao's morning self. But he shouldn’t get carried away. They were never going to get close enough for him to freely enjoy that side of Minghao.

And with that exact thought in mind, Junhui threw the sheets off his body and tried to get up.

He hasn’t even made a step before a hand flew up, grabbing him from the wrist. Junhui turned his head shocked to face the prince, who had rolled on his side looking in the knight's eyes.

"Junhui...stay.” he mumbled.

“Minghao I-”

“Please." the prince insisted squishing the knight’s wrist, brown irises sifting in determination. 

Junhui eyed him carefully before he exhaled, laying on his side as well. They were facing each other now but this time when they made eye contact, the prince averted his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Junhui asked, his voice level just above a whisper.

The prince hesitated to answer. "You...You didn't leave..." he mumbled softly.

"I didn't." Junhui confirmed with a small nod still a little confused.

That was really weird. The knight did not expect Minghao to act like that after their fight. But he had also accepted that he would never understand the prince.

"Why?" the prince asked.

"There's no point in running away. Like you said, as long as Mingyu and Wonwoo are together, we are stuck with each other." Junhui answered nonchalantly.

Minghao's face fell. "That...wasn't What you said last night though." he whispered, his eyes not looking at the older.

Junhui bit his lip in thought. That could only mean one thing; Minghao had found him last night. He had found him, and they had talked. But Junhui had no memory of either. What had he revealed to the prince?

"I don't know what I said last night." he admitted. "But you should listen to what I'm saying now."

Minghao gave him a tight smile.

"It's okay Junhui..." the prince breathed. "You know what? I set a goal in my mind last night...I'll do it. I will find the real you. The one you're trying to hide from everyone."

Minghao's eyes filled once again with determination, fierce and solid resting on Junhui’s face.

"You what?" Junhui tilted his head questioningly.

The fact that they were really having another conversation like this baffled him. It felt like they were back on that first clearing again, when Minghao followed him all the way inside the forest. It was weird how whenever they talked seriously it was because Minghao reached out to him.

Minghao smiled. "Don't worry. It won't hurt." he joked.

Junhui kept looking at him, trying for the nth time to understand what was going on inside that thick head of his.

"You said some strange things yesterday..." Junhui begun. "About Mingming too. Are you over that?" he asked.

"I'm just wondering how Mingming succeeded on coming so close to you. You opened up to him much quicker than you do with me. You are more true with him..." Minghao mattered. “I guess that's what fueled me yesterday. But now I understand that I also have a share at the problematic communication that happens between us."

"We both do." Junhui nodded. "But I don't know what else to do to fix it." he sighed.

"We can start by trying to be true with each other. Trust is the key of communication, but truth is what keeps it going." The prince voiced gently looking Junhui.

Junhui nodded again. "This is going to be harder than trust." he mumbled with a pout.

Minghao smiled at him. "You're already doing good." he said. "It's the first time I'm seeing you pouting." he laughed.

Junhui hummed. "Can we make a deal?" he asked.

"Shoot." Minghao said eagerly.

"I will be true with you. But in return I want you to be true with yourself first and _then_ with me." the knight said. “I feel like you have more to learn about real Minghao before uncovering my _façade_.”

Minghao grimaced at the reference of his word from the previous night. Then he sighed and smiled. "Alright, I'll try my best." he said.

"Great. Let's try again then. From the start, with trust and truthfulness.” the knight smiled.

"Cheers to that." Minghao said and rolled on his back, stretching his arms above his head, yawning loudly. "It's still so early though." he whined.

"Let's lie in then." Junhui said and snuggled further under the sheets. “We both need more sleep anyway.”

"I won't be able to fall back asleep now." Minghao said with an overly sad voice. "How hard is my life." he whined.

"...You want me to help you?" Junhui said after a while, peeking his head from under the sheets.

Junhui saw how Minghao's ears turned red at his suggestion. So that was still a pretty sensitive topic.

"Umm no, not right now..." Minghao mumbled. "Let's... Let's do that another time though. It was nice." he said, throwing one arm over his head to hide his face.

"As you wish." the knight said gently.

_This could work,_ Junhui thought. Maybe this time things, could really change for the better.

"Anyway." the prince cleared his throat. "Are the others up? I want breakfast." he said, sitting up on the bed.

"Want to find out?" Junhui asked.

"I'll go wake them up." Minghao yawned and got out of the bed, lazily shuffling out of their door.

~*~  
  


Minghao dragged his feet on the wooden floor, banging the couple's door as soon as he reached in front of it.

"Guys, are you awake?" he said, not raising his voice too much to not disturb the silence of the hallway.

After a while the door opened and a mop of hair peeked through it. Minghao was taken aback by the sight, stepping away from the doorway.

"Mingyu?" he asked confused.

"Shhh." Mingyu gestured at him to be quiet.

"What are you wearing?" Minghao's eyes widened at the clothes, or lack thereof, on his friend's body.

"What do you want Minghao?" Mingyu asked ignoring his question.

"Breakfast." Minghao's eyes focused back on Mingyu's face. "Junhui and I are up, I came to get you so we can have breakfast." he said, still a little shocked.

"I thought you fought last night." Mingyu arched an eyebrow.

"You heard us?" Minghao made a face.

“Who didn’t?”

The prince sighed. "It's okay, we made up." he informed.

"Really? That was quicker than I expected." Mingyu commented.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” the prince arched an eyebrow crossing his arms on his chest.

"Nothing. Anyway, let me wake Wonwoo and we will come to you, alright?" the other said.

“Alright.” Minghao nodded and turned his back on his friend. With another yawn he shuffled back in his room, closing the door behind him.

"So, what did they say?" Junhui asked him.

"They're going to get ready and then thy will come to pick us up to go eat." Minghao mumbled and sat on the bed where Junhui was still laying. "You have to get up too."

"Yes, in a minute." Junhui replied and turned around nuzzling in the pillow.

"Come on." Minghao said, patting the other on the waist. "I thought trained knights were able to get up early." he snickered.

"I'm not in the royal guard anymore. I deserve sleep." Junhui whined.

"And I deserve food. I barely ate anything yesterday." Minghao begun shaking him.

"Why are you shaking me. I don't have food I can't feed you." Junhui mumbled, his voice muffled from the pillow.

"Get up so we can get food." Minghao shook him harder, using both his hands.

Then with a quick move, Junhui grabbed Minghao's hands and laid him on the bed, throwing his upper body on the prince’s middle.

"Be patient." he chided lightly.

"Hey" Minghao swatted his shoulder. "You're not in the royal guard anymore you're not allowed to do that." he teased.

"You attacked me first. It's called self-defense." Junhui explained burring his nose in Minghao's tummy.

"Oh come on." Minghao chuckled as he felt his abdomen getting tickled. "It would have been much easier to get up than hold me here."

"I'm waiting for something." Junhui voiced.

"What?" Minghao arched an eyebrow. Then a knocked was heard on the door.

"That." Junhui said and lifted himself from on top of Minghao. "It's open!" he shouted and a second later Mingyu walked in, a bright smile on his face.

"Good morning you two! Glad to see you haven't killed each other!" he chirped.

"Well, well someone is in a good mood today." Junhui answered back.

"It's a beautiful day." Mingyu said, putting his hand over his heart. "And I'm starving so let's get going." he clapped to get the other two off the bed.

"Where is Wonwoo?" Minghao asked getting up from the soft mattress.

His question was answered though once they stepped out of the room coming face to face with Wonwoo. The knight had an uncharacteristic smile on his lips.

"Good morning you two. I'm glad I see you're both still with us." he teased.

"That's what I said too." Mingyu kissed the top of Wonwoo's head.

"We weren't going to kill each other." Minghao made rolled his eyes at the couple.

"You were pretty close." Mingyu commented.

"No we weren't." Junhui insisted. "We just had an argument. That's all. No big deal."

"Well it seems to be over, so there’s no point talking about it now." Wonwoo said peacefully and Mingyu kissed his temple again.

"Exactly." the footman agreed.

"Let's go then. My stomach is complaining." Junhui said and pushed his three friends towards the staircase.

Wonwoo hissed at the sudden push and Mingyu put his hand between him and Junhui, slightly moving the Chinese back. Minghao arched an eyebrow but he chose not to comment on it, as the conversation continued.

"So, you said we are going at the sea next. When are we leaving?" Mingyu asked walking down the hallway.

"We can leave tomorrow. The trip there will be at least a week." Wonwoo suggested.

"We'll definitely need food for the way, we can't just go there without stoppin- wait, why are you walking like that?" Minghao turned to Wonwoo as he noticed the knight moving his hips weirdly.

"He walks just fine." Mingyu said quickly, placing a hand on Wonwoo's waist.

Junhui started snickering from the side and Minghao arched a questioning eyebrow at his friend.

"Why are you laughing hyung?" Mingyu frowned.

"Nothing~" the knight sing-songed.

Minghao eyed him weirdly but Junhui winked and signaled him that he will explain him later.

"We can buy some food from the small shop on the third floor." Junhui suggested then, returning to the previous conversation.

“That’s a good idea.” Wonwoo agreed.

“Alright the. Let's do that." Mingyu nodded, kissing Wonwoo's head once more.

"You're awfully touchy today." Minghao told him. "We're almost at the diner, hands off." he said and tried to walk between the pair.

But Mingyu didn't let him, putting his elbow in front of his friend.

"Mingyu." the prince warned.

"No. Absolutely not." the footman said curtly as they kept walking forward.

Junhui pulled Minghao back, merely shaking his head. The prince huffed at the immaturity his best friend showed out of a sudden, but kept his mouth shut for now. Thankfully, before they entered the diner, Mingyu let go of Wonwoo's waist, albeit still keeping close to him.

The four friends sat on a table at the far corner of the diner. Warm tea was served to them together with some bread, cheese and a variety of sweet pies. While they ate, they discussed about their next destination and the road they would follow. They all agreed on heading east, following the natural path of the mountains so they could end up to the sea. Wonwoo also noted down a couple of small villages they would meet on their way in case they would need something. And with their plan set, the four of them sat peacefully to enjoy their tea.

As soon as they finished their meal, they paid and trailed towards the shop to buy food so they can refill their supplies.

"We should celebrate tonight." Minghao said randomly, as he observed a carrot from the pile of the vegetables.

"And why is that?" Mingyu asked from behind him, shoving a few tomatoes in a basket.

"Because we're doing good! We didn't get caught. We had fun at those beautiful springs. Now we're going to the sea. There are so many reasons." Minghao said, recalling how back at the castle it was so important for everyone's emotional conditions to have big celebrations.

"And I'm sure you two have a couple more reasons to add." Junhui winked at the couple, making Wonwoo avert his eyes and blush.

"Alright, that's it! I decided it! We are going to drink and celebrate tonight!" Minghao declared pointing the carrot in the air.

Junhui giggled. “Leave the poor carrot back in its place and we can celebrate all you want." he said.

"What are you celebrating?" a familiar voice sounded.

It was the second time Minghao was startled by the stable boy, finally dropping his carrot back to the pile.

"Hi Mingming." greeted Junhui, waving his hand.

"Hello Junhui. Guys." Mingming smiled.

"I was passing by and I saw you inside. What are all these? Are you leaving already?" he asked pointing at the pile of food in the basket Mingyu was holding.

"Unfortunately, we do. We have to continue our journey tomorrow morning." Junhui said sympathetically.

Mingming's smile fell a little. "That's a pity. You are a great company." he said.

Before Junhui could reply, Minghao shoved a couple of carrots in his arms. "Here. We're done with food." he decided.

The prince heard Wonwoo and Mingyu snickering from the sidelines and threw them a glare. Junhui looked at the carrot in his arms and then at Minghao with a frown.

“Don’t look at me like that." the prince said without bite behind it. “We should go and fix our things. Come on move your legs." he clapped his hands and moved towards the counter.

"I wish I could help you, but I have to return to my horses." Mingming spoke then. "I hope I see you again before you leave." he mumbled, touching Junhui's arm.

"Actually." Mingyu said, an evil smirk splitting his lips. "We are planning on going and drink tonight. Would you like to join us?"

"Really? That would be so sweet! I can find you after work." Mingming said enthusiastically. "If you all want me, of course." he looked back at Junhui.

"Yes, why not. It will be fun." Junhui said, giving a small smile to the stableboy.

"Yeah. Meeting you is another reason to celebrate, isn't it?" Minghao added, using the same tone Mingming had used, back when they couldn't understand if he was serious or sarcastic.

Mingming flashed him a smile. The audacity.

"Then I'll see you later." he said and wave goodbye as he exited the shop.

The moment Mingming was out of the doorway, Mingyu burst out laughing.

"Oh, Minghao, I had no idea you didn't like him." he said. "What did he do to you?"

Minghao glare at Mingyu and with a quick move he grabbed a loaf of bread from the basket, landing it on the footman’s forehead.

"Shut up. There's something fishy about him. That's all." the prince said crossing his arms in front of his chest, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

"Let's just pay for all this stuff and go already." Junhui sighed, grabbing the bread out of Minghao's hand.

After getting their new supplies, the four friends returned to their rooms to load their bags so they could be ready for tomorrow.

When their stuff was ready Junhui sat Minghao on the bead, explaining to him why Wonwoo was limping previously, leaving him staring at the rocky wall for at least half an hour in sock.

But all in all, their last day to the springs seemed to be the best one. Mingyu and Wonwoo were giddy every minute of the day, and Minghao didn't fight not even once with Junhui. It really was a great day to celebrate.

The night came quickly, and darkness fell in the woods outside the inn, finding the company once again at the diner. It was amazing how a room can change so much once the night falls. During the morning hours the diner was filled with the sunlight, but during the night small lanterns painted pink, blue and green, gave light to the room.

The short round tables with the cushions seemed even smaller under the dim light, and the colorful carpet was fluffy under their feet. The company decided to sit at a table close to the lit fireplace so they could enjoy its heat better.

"Too bad we can't have the place to ourselves." Mingyu pouted, playing with Wonwoo's fingers.

The place had more people than they had anticipated. So Minghao had made the couple seat on opposite sides of the table, just to be safe.

"Well it would be better if we were alone. But it's okay love." Wonwoo answered drawing small circles at his boyfriend's palm.

"Thank god the lights are dim." Minghao said, trying to block their linked hands from view. "Promise me you'll let go when Mingming gets here."

"Ah, the day after." Junhui said dreamily. "Our instincts seem to be a lot harder to control once we've mated."

"We're not wolves Junhui." Minghao deadpanned.

"You know about wolves and you didn't know about people. I'm so disappointed in you Haohao." Junhui gasped.

"I knew about the people whose objective is to produce children. I didn't think I'd need anything else, excuse you." Minghao stuck his tongue out.

"One day I'm gonna cut that tongue of yours." Junhui voiced playfully leaning in front of Minghao’s face.

"So." Wonwoo cleared his throat. "What exactly happened last night between you two?" he asked.

Minghao and Junhui looked at each other. The fact that they had decided to go with trust and honesty between them didn't mean that either of them was comfortable to explain their conversations to others. Not yet at least.

"You want the good or the bad parts?" Minghao decided to keep the mood light.

"Both." Mingyu and Wonwoo said together and Junhui groaned.

"The effects of the day after, which include but are not limited to episodes of overprotection, increased affection and synchronization, can last for a varied amount of time, depending on the surrounding condition, the reaction of other pack members and-"

"Junhui we're not wolves!" Minghao chuckled at the completely random information the Chinese seemed to possess.

"Oh my God just tells us what happened." Mingyu whined looking at his friend.

" _Oh my God just tell us what happened!_ ” Minghao mimicked Mingyu's deeper voice and it was now Junhui's turn to chuckle.

"This isn’t going anywhere." Wonwoo sighed.

At that time a young girl approached them.

"Good evening gentlemen. Would you like to order something?" she said sweetly.

"How about Soju?" Mingyu asked the rest of them.

Wonwoo quickly nodded but Junhui tilted his head. "I've never had soju before." he said.

"Then you're in the perfect place to try it!" came Mingming's familiar voice, approaching their table. "Hi Jisoo." he waved at the waitress.

"Hello Mingie."the girl waved back.

"So Jisoo sweetheart... I want you to bring us five bottles of hot soju and one of every dish on the menu, alright. Tell mama Jiyio it's on me." he flashed her a sweet smile.

"On it." the girl said and after writing something on a piece of paper, she walked back to the kitchen.

"You don't have to pay for all of this!" Junhui said immediately, scooting over so Mingming could have a seat. "It's really too much."

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing. I just wanted to thank you for inviting me to your company these past two days." the stable boy brushed him off.

"No, it really is too much." Junhui insisted.

"Then make sure we have fun tonight." Mingming winked.

An awkward silence fell among them but, luckily just then Jisoo came back with the soju and some small porcelain cups. She put the five containers on the table and passed around the cups.

"Drink up and have a nice time." she wished before retreating once again.

"We get soju straight from Gisa here." Mingming explained as he started filling glasses. "Minghao I hope it reminds you of home." the boy smiled at the prince.

Minghao tried to smile back so he wouldn't seem rude. When Mingming was done with filling the cops he took his and raised in the air.

"Well guys, it was really nice meeting you. I hope you have a safe trip and always be healthy and stay together. Oh and come back some time." he laughed.

"If the road brings us back to the mountains, we'll make sure to come see you." Mingyu said clicking his glass with Mingming and the others joined in.

Junhui brought the glass to his lips and took a sip. Minghao knew that the drink had more alcohol than the wine he usually drank. It's warm temperature made it great for a winter drink. It still tasted nice in spring, even if it was a little strong.

"Do you like it?" Mingming asked him sweetly.

"It's really strong. But it's warm and tasty at the same time." Junhui commented eyeing the cup thoughtfully.

"Just like you." Mingming winked again and Minghao almost choked. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I grew up with that stuff. I feel proud when people like our drinks." he added quickly.

Junhui smiled. "Yeah it's good. I guess whatever comes from Gisa it's always good." he said with a lopsided grin.

Minghao’s heart skipped a bit as Junhui’s eyes landed briefly on him. "For once, I have to agree with that statement." he chuckled lightly. "Cheers to that." he raised his cup and drank a bit more.

"Drink up, drink up." Mingming urged, glancing around the four friends.

Minghao’s eyes fell on Wonwoo who was barley sipping his drinking, taking very small gulps at a time.

"You're not much of a soju person?" Mingming asked the knight.

He had good observing skills, Minghao could give him that.

"I uhh can't handle my alcohol very well." Wonwoo admitted.

Mingyu giggled at that and looked at the other surprised. "I didn't know that!" he exclaimed.

"You can't know everything about me at once." Wonwoo chuckled.

"Oh come on Wonwoo drink for us. It's a special day after all." Mingming said and raised his cup again on a silent toast.

"Drink. I'll take care of you." Mingyu said a bit more quietly, but Minghao elbowed him non the less.

"You don't have to." Mingming said to the prince as he downed his drink. "Honestly you two, look extremely cute together."

Mingyu smiled at him. “Well. We've been... friends for a long time, I guess." he said, his tone a bit more subdued.

Wonwoo took the attention from him though, as he downed his drink in one go. He left the empty glass on the table, looking at the shocked faces of the other four.

"Wow. Well look at that." Mingming snickered. "Good job Wonwoo. Come on Junhui drink."

"Do you want to get me drunk?" Junhui smirked at him.

"Maybe..." Mingming said trying to appear innocent by batting his eyelashes.

Junhui indulged him, as he grabbed his drink and downed it as well, while maintaining eye contact. A droplet managed to escape his lips, and just about when Mingming looked ready to wipe it, Minghao coughed.

"Didn't we order some food too?" he asked loudly.

As a cue to his words Jisoo came for the third time, a tray in her hand full of small plates with food. She placed it down and started putting the dishes on the table.

"You have a really good timing sir." she said smiling at Minghao.

"Or not..." Minghao could swear he heard Mingming whisper. He felt an evil satisfaction rising inside his guts.

The dishes were mostly appetizers coming to small wooden bowls and porcelain plates. There was cheese, grapes, nuts, olives, and a bit of bread. Also, tomatoes cut in pieces and cucumbers together with fried zucchini. Jisoo left the plates neatly on their table and with a wish of bone appetite she left.

"Wow." Junhui said. "A feast."

"Don't judge us please." Mingming said with a small voice.

"Are you kidding me? This is too much, I shouldn't have let you buy all this." Junhui said, refilling both his cup and Mingming's.

"I told you already. This is nothing comparing to what _you_ did for me." Mingming blushed.

"Oh? What did I do?" Junhui questioned.

"You gave me the chance to speak my mother language after 7 years." the stableboy voiced softly.

Junhui smiled warmly. "It was great to finally have someone call me gē again. I missed it." he admitted speaking in Mandarin.

Minghao wanted to hit his head on the table. Every plan he had to spend the night, peacefully drinking with his four friends flew out of the window. That feeling of loneliness creeped slowly at the bottom of his stomach as he continued observing the stableboy flirting with the knight. Mingyu and Wonwoo had also turned away from the conversation, speaking amongst themselves.

"What if I drink that in one go as well?" Wonwoo asked Mingyu quietly.

"What do you want to accomplish by doing that?" the other asked him curious.

"I don't know. You said drink." Wonwoo shrugged.

Mingyu giggled. "Do what you want baby. I got your back." he whispered.

Wonwoo smiled at him and proceeded to down his second drink.

"Soju isn't wine Wonwoo." Minghao decided to intervene.

Better them than Junhui and the boy. But apparently he wasn’t so lucky.

"You must be the most serious of the group." Mingming said to the prince. "You're always so stiff. Do you even know how to have fun?" he boy asked pointedly.

Minghao smiled at him, while his fists clenched underneath the table.

"Of course I do. Maybe you didn't notice because you're more focused on Junhui than the rest of us, given you're from the same country and all." he said and sipped his drink.

"You're right. But I can't help but feel that we are pretty close since we have something so _strong_ in common such as our birthplace and our language. The advantages you see..." Mingming said casually.

Junhui looked between the two of them, trying to hide his extremely amused grin behind his glass.

"Too bad you can't continue traveling with us. We speak your native language all the time, since, you know, I also speak it." Minghao said the last sentence in Mandarin.

Mingming gave a small glare at the prince.

"Wonwoo... what's the number of the drinks?" Mingyu was heard from the other side of the table.

"Twree. I think." Wonwoo replied and grabbed a piece of zucchini.

"Was that two or three?" Mingyu chuckled, refilling the knight's cup anyway.

"Twree." Wonwoo repeated and stuck out three fingers in the air.

"Wow Wonwoo truly can't hold his liquor." Junhui chuckled as he drunk a little of his soju.

Minghao couldn't help but smile as Wonwoo grabbed more zucchinis, eagerly stuffing them in his mouth.

"Just to clarify, this is the first for any of us to see him drunk?" Minghao asked, switching back to Korean.

"Yeah, first." Junhui nodded.

"This is going to be quite a night." Minghao said a.

"You guys should speak in Korean. Gyu and I can't understand you." Wonwoo said, drawing out his syllables.

"W-we are..." Junhui told him.

"Now you do. But previously you didn't. Right Gyu?" Wonwoo said looking inside his boyfriend's eyes.

"Of course." Mingyu said, and his eyes were so full of love, that there was no way they could have hide anything from Mingming.

Minghao cleared his throat again, as Wonwoo's eyes fell back on the snack he liked. Mingyu merely glanced at Minghao, before taking the plate of zucchinis and placing it in front of the knight.

"Here, all yours." he said.

Minghao sighed and put his cup on his lips drinking its content quickly. He was convinced that he was surrounded by idiots. First it was his two lovestruck friends. It seems like after what happened last night there was _nothing_ that hold them back. They didn't even care anymore who's seeing them or not. And that was dangerous to say the least. Then it was Junhui, who blindly took in whatever Mingming was saying and doing to him. And last but not least Mingming himself. The guy had become a leech to the Chinese knight and a pain in the ass for Minghao.

Minghao didn't think that he would ever say that, but he preferred the boy like he was the previous day, more subtle and shy. It was obvious that he was getting desperate because they were leaving tomorrow.

It seemed that if Minghao wanted to actually have fun that night, he had to drink more. He filled his cup again and looked at Junhui.

"I'm going to be honest with you." he said with a smirk. "If I get too drunk, you're responsible for carrying me to bed." he added and took a gulp out of his glass.

Junhui chuckled. "Feel free to do whatever you want. I'm here." he said at the prince with a knowing smile.

"You two share a room?" Mingming asked with an unreadable face.

"Yes we do." Minghao answered his lips splitting in an evil grin.

"Wouldn't want to separate these two, I imagine." Mingming glanced at the couple.

They were trying to balance the zucchinis on the plate on top of each other. Wonwoo was giggling nonstop, while Mingyu, who was still sober enough but too whipped to deny Wonwoo's wish for a zucchini tower, kept their work steady.

"What do you mean by that?" Minghao almost glared at him.

"I just admire their closeness that's all. I wish I had a friend like that." Mingming shrugged, and maybe it was only in Minghao's imagination, but he said the word friend in a weird tone.

“Maybe if you can someday travel too, you can meet someone like Mingyu did with Wonwoo.” Junhui said and patted his back.

Minghao tried to hide his snicker by drinking again. That was a very smooth rejection. He had never felt prouder for Wen Junhui. If Mingming was disappointed, he didn't let it show.

Suddenly the heard the clatter of silverware, only to see that the zucchini tower had toppled over, some pieces falling on Wonwoo's lap.

"Careful, love." Mingyu said, gently grabbing Wonwoo's hand away from the mess he started to clean.

Minghao and seemingly Junhui stiffened at Mingyu's words. That stupid footman had to open his mouth and speak so loudly. Minghao wanted to hit him.

"Mingyu." the prince hissed and Junhui facepalmed.

"Ha! I knew it!" Mingming piped up excited and all four of them turned to look at him shocked.

“You knew what exactly?” Minghao asked, his voice coming out more sharply than he liked it to.

Mingming leaned back and put his hands in front of him defensively. "Please don't get me wrong." he said. "But they're together, aren't they?" he asked in Mandarin.

"Do you think we would answer that." Minghao said defensively.

Mingyu and Wonwoo looked at the conversation they weren't able to understand alarmed. Wonwoo's eyes struggled to focus but his fists were clenched, and he was standing still and quiet.

"Mingming, don't think too much-" Junhui begun, placing a hand on the other's back but the boy interrupted him.

"Guys hold on. I’m not trying to cause an argument or anything." he smiled sweetly. "Beside... I understand them more than you can. I'm like them after all." he admitted switching back in Korean.

The confession shouldn't be surprising, everyone was aware of the flirting attempts to Junhui. But still, it wasn't a small deal to willingly confirm something like that. Silence fell between them, only the humming of the rest of the people feeling the space between them.

"Thank you for telling us." Minghao spoke first, deciding to break the silence. "Even though you haven't really been subtle."

"I wasn’t trying to be. When I see beautiful people I have to show my interest." he shrugged looking at the Chinese knight warmly.

"I'm sorry..." Junhui smiled sympathetically.

"It's alright. Maybe I will find someone one day and be like those two... perfectly on love." he smile and raised his cup once more.

"To Wonwoo and Mingyu." he said with low voice.

Mingyu raised his glass with thankful eyes.

"Thank you." he said. "It means a lot to us."

Wonwoo wordlessly raised his glass as well, staring at Mingyu intensely.

"He's thankful too." Mingyu smiled when he caught his boyfriend's eyes. "Just a bit drunk." he continued with a fond laugh.

"Well, cheers." Minghao clinked all their glasses together.

And after that the four friends, together with Mingming drank, laughed, and had a great time. Wonwoo and Mingyu seemed more carefree than ever after Mingming's confession. They even changed seats, moving beside to one another. Minghao felt more relaxed too. He giggled and laughed and joked around with Mingyu, singing songs that they had learned when they were children. Junhui watching them fondly from the side.

~*~

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Junhui said to Mingming.

Their celebration had come to an end and now they were to go back to their rooms to sleep.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. You can't break my heart that easily." the boy said, throwing an arm around the knight.

Junhui smiled fondly at him. "I hope you will find what you want some day." he said.

"Thank you. And I hope you will succeed at acquiring what you want." Mingming winked.

Junhui laughed at the wink, patting the other's hair. Wonwoo, who was sitting next to him, elbowed him lightly.

"Remember when I asked about your preferences? That's what I meant." he said slowly. "I still can't understand if you like men."

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Junhui laughed at his friend's red cheeks.

"He totally does." Minghao interjected. "But I think he has a type. It isn't enough for his majesty to just be pretty." the prince snickered.

" _You_ , shouldn't drink so much." Junhui pointed at Minghao. "You don't know what you are talking about."

"I can only guess." Minghao shrugged with a smile. "You like blondes." he squinted his eyes in thought.

"Oh my God..." the knight sighed. He then leaned near Minghao’s ear. "If you want to learn my type you have to try something better than guessing." he whispered.

Minghao lifted his head with a satisfied grin. He admitted it. Junhui really just trusted him, and only him, with his secret desire. Finally, they were making some progress. He sipped his drink happily, proud that their talks were paying off little by little.

"This day is going so well, I can hardly believe it." the prince said out of the blue.

"Cheers to that then." Junhui laughed.

"I don't think I can drink anymore..." Wonwoo admitted quietly, and Mingyu immediately pushed a glass of water in front of him.

"Here baby. Drink this instead." he urged him.

" _Water keeps you hydrated~_ " Minghao sing-songed, leaning his head on Mingyu's shoulder.

After Wonwoo drank the new liquid, he leaned his body against Mingyu.

"Finally you're next to me. What were you doing all the way to the other side of the table?" he whined.

"Why don't you ask your friend Minghao over there that put a dead zone between us." Mingyu glared at his friend who rolled his eyes.

"So after two pack members mate, it would be advisable to not try and separate them until they choose to, for they might get depressed, or even aggressive." Junhui piped up once with the random information, making Mingming looked at him confused.

"Junhui for the last time, we aren't a pack of wolves. We are humans!" Minghao shouted.

"Shhh!" the Chinese knight reached over the table and put a hand over his mouth to keep him silent.

"Awoooo!" Wonwoo howled quietly.

"Woooo" Mingyu howled together.

"See?" Junhui pointed.

"Unbelievable." Minghao sighed.

"Even when you're having fun it looks like you don't." Mingming told the prince. "Relax."

"But I _am_ relaxed." Minghao frowned at him. "What do you even consider fun? Mingyu, what do you consider fun?" he asked his friend.

"Kissing Wonwoo." Mingyu smirked, wiggling his eyebrows, making Mingming chuckle.

"Okay, that's easy." Minghao said and reached above the table, grabbed Wonwoo' shirt to pull him closer and kissed him on the cheek.

Junhui and Mingming laughed while Mingyu shrieked. "Hey! Hands off that's my boyfriend." he screeched.

"Minghao, Minghao, Minghao." Junhui said condescendingly. "I told you that they can get territorial and overprotective, didn't I?"

Before Minghao could reply, Wonwoo wrapped his arms around Mingyu’s waist and shushed him.

"Shhh, don't say that out loud love. Mingming can't know we're together." he said but kissed his cheek anyway.

"You're incredible all of you." Mingming laughed.

"Hey, there are still other people in here. Mingyu don't be immature." Junhui scolded the footman and this time Mingyu sighed but nodded.

"It's such a pity, isn't it? I've seen so many couples, young and old, married or engaged, coming here. Do you know how little of them were so obviously in love? And from all of them, it had to be these two that can't freely express it? Humans really have no shame." the stable boy said with a shake of his head.

"Love is weird. You'll never know where you will find it. And it takes many forms." Junhui voiced his eyes stuck on the table’s surface, unfocused.

"That's true." Minghao pointed to him and then looked around his friends. "I loved you Mingyu when you mopped the first floor and I sat at the windows and talked about the stupidest things. I loved you Wonwoo when you came to speak to me, but neither of us could talk seriously because we're both so bad at it. And Junhui." Minghao finally looked at the older but burst out laughing. "I'm not saying anything cheesy to you, but yeah." he said, his eyes shining from the alcohol.

"I'm hurt." the Chinese pit his hand on his chest groaning.

"Don't worry Junhui, you deserve better." Mingming patted his back.

Minghao felt his smile fainting. That was really offending. How dare he to criticize Minghao like that? And who was Mingming to judge what kind of person Junhui needed in his life. Nobody. A mere stable boy wo new nothing about the knight or the of their company.

Minghao knew more things about Junhui that Mingming could ever dream of learning. Minghao had already seen so many shades of Junhui's personality that all the other three combined. So of course, he felt offended.

"Yeah he deserves better, he rejected you for a reason." he replied smoothly still smiling at Mingming.

Mingming glared at the prince but the smirk didn't leave his lips. Minghao glared back. A silent tension unravelling between them.

"Alright. I think we've had enough soju for the day." Junhui declared and grabbed the small cup from Minghao's hand.

"And it's late, so we probably should get some rest. Tomorrow we have a big journey." Mingyu added, thankfully, understanding the tensed atmosphere.

"Alright. I'll go downstairs and pay, the landlady always gives me discounts." Mingming said patting the knight’s bicep. "I'll be at the stables tomorrow morning to see you off. Get some rest." he got up, letting his hand linger on Junhui's shoulder a little longer.

“Alright then.” Junhui answered with a nod.

“Thank you for this wonderful night, and don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” the stableboy said and bowed a little before bidding them goodnight.

"Bye bye." Minghao waved his fingers.

When Mingming finally left them alone, Mingyu turned to his friend.

"What exactly was that?" he asked with an eyebrow arched.

Minghao shrugged. "It was pretty clear that I don't like him. You know me, I can't hide my dislike for someone."

"Tell me about it." Junhui said and drank the last drop of his soju.

"Ahh, don't remind me of all the effort I've put in liking you!" Minghao lightly slapped his hand. "It's almost a habit now. I don't think I'll ever be able to let you go from now on."

"I don't believe that." Junhui laughed.

"Guys we should probably go. Wonwoo has become a little sleepy over here." the two heard Mingyu saying.

They turned their heads and watched as Wonwoo's eyes closed and opened, making him drift in and out of consciousness.

"Yeah let's get going." Minghao agreed. But as soon as he got up, he froze on his spot. Everything was spinning making him feel dizzy. He quickly put his hands back on the table for support. "Junhui."

"Don't worry I got you." Junhui stood up and held Minghao's waist to steady him. "You're good?" he asked.

"Yes. It's like when you taught me how to swim." Minghao giggled. "Come on, take me to the deep part." he said and let go of the table.

Junhui raised his head looking at Mingyu. The footman helped his boyfriend stand up putting one of the knight's arms over his own soldiers.

"Come on, let’s head back." he said and the four started their trip towards their rooms.

They managed to leave the diner, but after a few steps in the third-floor’s corridor, Wonwoo let out a huff.

"Gyu, my back hurts..." he said quietly.

"Alright." Mingyu replied soothingly, looking up and down the hallway.

It was empty. He supported Wonwoo to a wall and crouched in front of him, his back facing him.

"Grab my neck, love." he said and Wonwoo easily draped himself over his boyfriend's back.

With a small smile, Mingyu grabbed his thighs and lifted him up. The knight buried his head on Mingyu's neck and wrapped his slim legs around him.

"Yay." he said sleepily as soon as Mingyu stood on his legs again.

"Drunk Wonwoo is so funny." Junhui snickered.

Suddenly Minghao left a low groan from his side.

"What's wrong?" Junhui asked halting momentarily.

_"My back hurts._ " the prince snickered, making his voice deep.

Junhui laughed, flicking his forehead. "You're as drunk as him." he pointed out.

Minghao snickered again.

"Do you want me to carry you to your room your highness?" Junhui asked still laughing under his breath.

"Nooo, I can walk, my loyal knight." Minghao said. "Wouldn't want to burden you more than I already do." he voiced a little quieter

Junhui tight his hold on the prince’s waist. "Don't ever say that again. I promised I'll be here for you." he chided in Mandarin so Mingyu could understand him.

"Even if some people say you deserve better?" Minghao continued with a raised eyebrow in Korean, his mind too cloudy to change languages.

"Even if that." the knight answered rolling his eyes fondly.

Minghao scoffed, his thoughts trailing back at the audacity and boldness that stableboy had while talking.

"He had no right to say that. Tell me I am better than him." he told Junhui, pursing his lips.

Junhui didn't answer him though. Minghao waited patiently for him to say something, even the slightest compliment. But the knight didn't open his mouth again. For some reason the prince felt his heart clenching uncomfortably in his chest, disappointment washing over him.

After ten excruciating minutes, full of whines and drunk talk, the company reached their rooms.

"Goodnight then." Mingyu turned to the other two. "I'll see you tomorrow." he said with a tight smile.

"Goodnight Gyu. Sweet dreams." Junhui said back and opened their door as well.

He let Minghao in first, following right behind him. Minghao didn't speak as Junhui helped him sit on the bed. When he felt stable again, he let go of the knight and leaned down, trying to take his footwear off.

He immediately regrated it though as the dizziness came back. The alcohol in his system had made his body heavy and with almost no reflexes, Minghao felt himself falling. Luckily for him Junhui was there. With quick hands the knight grabbed him before he fell face down on the floor.

Junhui chuckled as he helped Minghao straighten his body again.

"Here let me help you with that." he said and bend down to unbuckle the prince's boots.

Minghao silently rested his hands on the other's shoulder. He wanted to say something, anything to get his mind away from his sudden disappointment, but his thoughts were too jumbled up.

"You said you'd be honest with me." he said in the end. "Am I really that bad of a person?" he asked.

"You're talking about what you asked me?" Junhui looked up when he was done with the boots.

Minghao nodded, laying slowly back on the bed.

Junhui looked him with a fond smile and chuckled as he toed his shoes off. He sat on the edge of the bead taking off his shirt, remaining only with a plain fabric on him. He then shuffled quietly on the mattress, leaning his back on the headboard.

"Do you want know that much?" he teased as soon as he sat.

"Yes." Minghao nodded again, turning on his side to watch the other.

"I don't believe that anyone is better. Both you're your own person. I don't know him, and I barely know you. So I can't decide. But I will tell you this..." Junhui averted the prince eyes, looking towards the window instead. "I prefer you over him."

Minghao's mood seemed to lift up a bit at this. "You do?" he asked again, to confirm the answer.

The knight nodded. "I do..." he said.

Satisfaction filled Minghao’s heart. He bit his lower lips to prevent a happy smile from blooming on his lips. The fight was over, and the winner was decided. The prince felt proud.

"Minghao?” Junhui mumbled then, cutting the prince’s thoughts.

“Yes Junhui.”

“I was wondering. Why were you so mean with Mingming? It's not like he threatened to take something precious from you." he chuckled.

"No, he just threatened to take you." Minghao replied without thinking it much.

"And that's a problem because...?" the knight trailed arching his eyebrow.

"Shut up, it just is." Minghao whined and buried his head on the pillow.

Junhui left a breathy laugh out. "It's alright Hao." he said and started stroking the prince black mullet.

Minghao hummed, content. Junhui’s hand felt so feathery as it threaded through his hair, brushing away his adrenaline.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Minghao asked Junhui, voice muffled. "Was my idea good?"

"It was great. I haven't celebrated since new year. I've missed the taste of alcohol." Junhui admitted with a laugh. "Did _you_ have fun?" he asked then.

"Mmm." Minghao voiced. "I'm still having fun though."

Junhui's hand halted for a moment but then continued his way between Minghao’s roots.

"You like to be caressed?" the knight hummed as his fingers traveled further down touching the back of Minghao's long neck.

“No…” Minghao murmured but turned his face to the side, exposing more of his neck.

"Are you sure? I can stop if you want me to." Junhui said and took his fingers away from Minghao's skin.

Minghao opened his eyes and frowned at him. _Be truthful_ , he reminded himself.

"Okay, I lied. I like it." he said before he could regret it.

Junhui let out a small chuckle. "Do you want me to continue?" he asked sweetly.

"Don't make me say it." Minghao blushed and buried his head back to the pillow.

"Alright, alright." the knight voiced and started stroking Minghao's locks again.

The prince sighed in satisfaction, closing his eyes.

"I'm going to sleep like that." he yawned. "How do you always manage to put me to sleep?"

“Am I supposed to feel offended?” Junhui asked lightly.

Minghao laughed. “Yes. Be offended. Be terrified. I'm going to slander your name; _Junhui the boring knight_. He puts the prince of Gisa to sleep with his presence." he babbled, not really paying much attention to what he was saying.

"You should have hire me as your personal sleep putter." Junhui laughed at his own words.

"What even is a 'sleep putter'?" Minghao raised his eyebrows, stifling his laughter.

"I don't know. Me? Because I _put_ you to sleep." Junhui questioned himself.

"Oh would you look at that, you're drunk too." Minghao said, patting Junhui's thigh pityingly.

"More than you? I'm doubting it." Junhui said.

His hand then reached Minghao's spine. He started drawing small circles here and there adding a little pressure at the prince sore back.

"Mmm I take it back. You're fine." Minghao groaned falling back on the pillow.

" _You_ are definitely drunk though.” Junhui argued.

“And why’s that?” the prince questioned.

“If you were fine you wouldn't let me touch one hair of your head. I literally massage your back and you don't even move. That says a lot." the knight mumbled.

“Well why do _you_ want to touch me? If you’re not as drunk as me, what’s your excuse?” the prince turned his head towards Junhui again.

"You don't know that, but I... I'm an awfully touchy person." Junhui explained his eyes averting Minghao’s.

Minghao smiled to himself. Those little pieces of information were very much appreciated.

"Thank you for telling me. I'll make sure I won't stab your hand the next time you touch me during the day." he said.

"This is so reassuring. Thank you." Junhui rolled his eyes.

"But you know, when I'm nervous... It can help calm me down." Minghao admitted shyly. "I guess you already know that though." he added quietly, thinking about all the times Junhui managed to get him relax.

Junhui left out a quiet sigh and slid down, getting comfortable on the bed.

"Am glad I can help you with something." he whispered his hand coming back to Minghao’s nape.

" _I'm_ glad you can help me with something." Minghao stuck his tongue out playfully.

Junhui smirked. "The next time you'll do that, I promise you that I will bit you." he leaned and whispered in Minghao's ear.

"Yeah, no, go bite Mingming." Minghao pointedly showed his tongue again.

As soon as those words left his mouth though, Junhui turned and grabbed him from the biceps, laying him flat on the bed before kneeling above him. He then leaned closer in his space a breath away from his lips.

"Yours is better. You're from Gisa after all." Junhui whispered.

Surprisingly Minghao merely chucked, not bothered by Junhui's bold move at all. It was probably because of the alcohol that he could still look at the knight in the eye and not feel the slightest embarrassment.

"So now I'm better than Mingming, hm? Get off, you're heavy." the prince pushed Junhui's face away.

"Why do you doubt that so much?" Junhui laughed as he fell on Minghao's side.

"I don't. You were the one who was all flirty with him." Minghao rolled his eyes, getting comfortable on his stomach again.

"I wasn't flirting. I was myself." Junhui shrugged.

"Then you're a flirty person." Minghao concluded.

He blindly searched for Junhui’s hand, that was resting next to his hip. When he found it, he placed it back to his hair without a word. Junhui just chuckled and started threading his fingers in the black locks again.

After a moment of total silence, the knight spoke again "Minghao. I lied to you."

"Oh?" Minghao turned to look at him.

"Yesterday I… I didn't stay because of Wonwoo and Mingyu..." Junhui trailed. "I stayed because of you... Because I promised you." he sighed.

Minghao closed his eyes, taking a moment to accept those words. He knew that Junhui stayed for him, the other had told him already once. But he choosing to admit it as well? That couldn't have been easy. Junhui was taking their agreement of being truthful very seriously.

So despite all the bad blood they had, all their arguments, all their differences, Minghao finally felt like he truly did like Junhui as a person. His bitterness, his doubts, the walls he had put up right after meeting him, they were all slowly fading. He was now getting to meet the real Junhui, and he felt like he really liked what he saw.

"Who would have thought..." he mumbled. It was a reply to his thoughts more than it was to Junhui's admission.

"What?" Junhui mattered.

"Thank you for telling me Junhui." Minghao said, his tone calm and quiet. "I... I feel like I owe you an apology too. You know that it is hard for me to get over my first impression of someone. You saw it in action with Mingming. But you... I feel like whatever bad prejudice I had against you is gone now... So, I'm sorry." he admitted quietly.

Junhui turned his face shocked. "Who are you and what have you done to my Haohao. Maybe the alcohol was a bad idea after all." he mumbled alone his voice full of surprise.

"Shut up, I'm serious." Minghao smiled. "Let's get along from now on."

"Yeah let's get along." Junhui hummed and booped the prince's nose.

Minghao closed his eyes. Another night with Junhui, another peaceful sleep awaiting. This time, he managed to escape the tears too.

"Can we go to sleep now?" he asked, opening his eyes to see Junhui's face illuminated by a new lantern the maids had brought.

The knight was already looking at him, his umber eyes sifting under the warm orange colour of the candle.

"Of course we can. Sweet dreams Haohao." he whispered sweetly.

"Night night." the prince replied, before plunging into a deep, peaceful sleep.

~*~

The dawn of the next morning found the four friends at the small stable, preparing their horses for their long journey towards their new destination; the sea.

Wonwoo had a terrible headache and that was obvious by the small frown that marred his face. Minghao wasn't in a better condition either. There was a slight buzz inside his sculp, and the dizziness wasn't completely out of his system just yet. Mingyu and Junhui on the other were perfectly fine and in an awfully cheerful mood for Minghao's likings. Their tall bodies helped their tolerance in alcohol, so they had woken up with an rather happy vibe.

"I slept like a rock last night." Mingyu said as he put the saddle on his chestnut horse.

"And like a rock you're going fall from this cliff if you don't tone it down." Minghao murmured, petting his own horse's nose.

"Someone's a little grumpy today." Mingyu sing-songed dodging a potato that Minghao threw at him.

"He’s like that since he woke up. I'm thankful that he hasn't strangled me yet." Junhui mattered, tighting the reins of his mare.

"Your strangling is not worth my time." Minghao replied, nuzzling his horse lovingly.

Then a small coughing sound caught their attention.

"Good morning to the most beautiful company." Mingming laughed.

A chorus of good mornings came from the group, in various levels of excitement.

"Did you sleep well?" the stable boy asked them.

"Excellent!" Mingyu and Junhui chorused.

"Mmm" the other two grumbled.

Mingming's eyes fell to Minghao's horse, that was still not prepared in favour of getting pets.

"Do you want me to help you with that Minghao?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"If you don't mind. But be careful he is a little grumpy with the strangers." Minghao smirked.

"Much like her owner." Mingyu snickered, earning himself a glare from his best friend.

"Don't worry, we bonded here at the stables. I love horses!" Mingming patted the horse's back, before grabbing the saddle and the reigns, expertly fastening them.

"You're really good with them too." Junhui commented.

"Horses are like human. They have feelings. If you respect them and take care of them properly, they respect and love you back." Mingming said and petted the horse's mane.

"Cute." Junhui commented, making Mingming look back at him with a weird smile.

"I think we should get going." Wonwoo opened his mouth for the first time since they woke up.

Mingyu's head whipped back to look at him with a bright look. He walked over to him and held his arm out.

"Here, let me help you up." he said charmingly.

Wonwoo smiled sweetly. "Such a gentleman." he commended and took his boyfriend's hand, climbing up his horse's back.

Wonwoo made a face when he sat on the saddle, rubbing the small of his back. Mingyu, despite the slight look of worry, smirked up at him.

"Something to remember me as we ride away." he said, rubbing the knight's thigh.

"Alright that's enough. Mingyu focus." Minghao said and clapped his hands together.

Mingyu rolled his eyes and kissed Wonwoo's hand before going back to his own horse.

"It's been a pleasure Mingming." he said at the stable boy.

"The pleasure was all mine." Mingming bowed deeply after finishing the preparation of Minghao's horse.

"Thank you for this." Minghao patted the saddle before climbing up as well. This was all the goodbye he was giving Mingming.

Then the stable boy turned to the Chinese knight and smiled. "Once again thank you for everything." he said shyly.

"You don't have anything to thank me for." Junhui patted his shoulder. "Take care okay?"

"I... I will." the boy fuddled with his fingers.

Suddenly he raised his head and with a determined look in his eyes, and leaned forward, placing a peck on Junhui's cheek.

"Come back again someday." he said and ran away from the stable with a blush decorating his round face.

Mingyu squeaked. Minghao tsked. Junhui just laughed a bit, a hand over the cheek the younger had kissed.

"Can we leave already?" the prince said louder.

"Yes, yes let's go." Junhui said rushing up his horse as well.

And just like this the four friends left Jiyio’s famous hot springs, marching towards their new adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thats it guys!!!!
> 
> How was it hm? Junhao is finally making progress!!!!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and as every time, waiting for the comments to read your opinion. I love u guys so much and I'll see you next week!!!
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy!!!
> 
> -SkWh


	20. A petal on your sword

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo people!!!!  
> An other weekend an other chapter is out!!! We reached 20 already!? I can't believe it!!!!
> 
> BUT! Once again... I have to warn, that this chapter contains SMUT at the end!!!!! 
> 
> This is the only thing I have to say, so without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

Three days later, the group finally found themselves out of the stone path. Like they had already planned, they stay at the foot of the mountain, riding their horses parallel to the stone giant and heading east. The main road that led to Gisa was no longer visible to them, hidden behind rocky heights and a growing distance. They had truly left the place behind.

At some point, in one of their multiple conversations, Minghao had said something that hadn't appealed to anyone's liking; what if they run out of food in the middle of their way? Or what would happen if a wild animal or even thieves attacked them in the night? Sure, Wonwoo and Junhui were there to protect them, but what if they got separated?

All those _what ifs_ had made the two knights paranoid, so they came up with a plan. As soon as an opportunity emerged, they decided to visit the closest town to buy weapons for the other two and finally teach them how to fight. In Mingyu's occasion, it would be easier since he had already learned some of the basics back at the castle. In Minghao's though, Wonwoo would have to start training him completely from scratch.

"It would also be pointless if you learned how to yield a sword with that kind of arm muscle, wouldn't it?" Junhui interjected from behind, as they rode down the dirt road. "Sword fighting requires physical strength, which you don't exactly have at the moment." he continued, looking Minghao up and down.

"Do you have a better idea Junhui? I'm open to suggestions." Wonwoo said from the front.

"Minghao should decide that. Do you have any hidden talents, dear prince?" Junhui asked, and Minghao could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"I don't. Apart from studying I didn't do much in the castle." Minghao admitted, keeping his face ahead.

"Hey, it's okay." Wonwoo said, comforting as ever. "I didn't do anything other than studying before I became a knight either. I didn't do much of anything other than reading after completing my training too..." he smiled sheepishly.

"That doesn't help us though." Junhui frowned.

Silence fell between them, only the noise of hooves and the chirping of birds was heard.

"Wait a minute." Mingyu broke the silence. "Minghao, you _are_ good at something other than studying."

Minghao shot him a questioning look.

"Target." was the only thing that Mingyu said.

"Oh. That game." Minghao recalled.

When they were younger, they used to come up with all kinds of games to entertain themselves. One that Minghao especially liked was when they arranged little stones in a vertical line, walked a few meters back and they took turns in hitting the first stone from the line with rocks of their own, until the line was cleared.

"That was just a kids' game though."

He had been good at shooting rocks, but he failed to see how it could be useful now.

"Hold on. Let me get this straight. You were playing a game that had to do with targets and shooting?" Wonwoo asked, looking between the two childhood friends who nodded in sync.

"Yes Minghao always beat me at it." Mingyu explained.

"Junhui are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Wonwoo turned back at his friend.

"No, really, that's an exaggeration." Minghao piped up before the other could answer. "I was barely ten years old."

"Ah, Haohao, who would have thought that you would chose this particular moment to play humble?" Junhui asked him theatrically.

"No, no, it’s okay. Minghao, have you ever held a bow?" Wonwoo asked encouragingly.

"Wait... You want me to learn archery?" Minghao's eyes shot up.

"Why not? We could use a long-range weapon in this team." Wonwoo glanced around their little group. "We could make many more battle formations." he pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Plus we could hunt for food. That solves both our problems." Junhui declared.

"I mean... I could try, I guess?" Minghao shrugged.

"Perfect. Let's find a town then and buy our new things." Wonwoo said and hit his reins to go faster.

The other three followed him, having gotten used to their ridding formation of Wonwoo in the front, Minghao and Mingyu in the middle and Junhui at the back.

The villages were more sparse around the mountains, as people generally chose to live near the sea. It took another two days until they found themselves at a village, and even then, it was unlike all the ones they have previously been to.

The four horses entered through the tall gate of the wooden wall that surrounded the houses. Those walls offered far better protection to the people here than those that lived at the plains. The whole village was a little bigger than the previous ones, with wooden-made houses and rocky paths twirling between them.

The company rode further inside, passing by picturesque homes and a quirky pub, twisting, and turning further uphill. At one point the terrain flattened, and the four friends found themselves in a plaza square. A big cherry tree in its middle. Its pink petals were spread all the stone square, some of them floating with the wind so they could travel to the rest of the town too. Pink on gray and brown. Minghao found himself liking that town.

"So pretty." Wonwoo commented, lifting a hand to touch a pink petal that float towards him.

"You're so much prettier." Minghao heard Mingyu saying under his breath, his eyes having that star struck glint. The prince patted his friend’s back encouragingly, and Mingyu let out a loud sigh.

All around the plaza were small shops, selling all kinds of things. From food to furniture and jewelry. Behind their glass walls, they had some products in display for passers-byes to gaze at, tempting them to go inside.

"There." Junhui pointed at one of the shops.

It was nowhere near as big as their blacksmith's shop back at Gisa. It only had a small variety of the most basic hunting weapons on a wooden stand outside. Minghao doubted there would be much more inside. He couldn’t even see a sword on the stand. But still, the place looked decent.

They decided to leave their horses tied to a tree a little further away. The weapons would probably cost a few golden coins, but they still needed to do something with their lack of less valuable ones.

They entered the small shop, taking a look around the shelves with the various weapons.

"Good morning!" a female voiced startled them, not even two steps inside. "How can I help you?" a young girl, the owner of that voice, appeared from behind the counter. She was wearing a pair of pants with a loose shirt for top and she was covered in black spots. Gloves were decorating her hands and her hair were pulled back on a high ponytail. Despite her age, she was clearly the blacksmith here.

"Hello there!" Junhui greeted her with a smile, momentarily forgetting his deal with Minghao to let him do the talking. "Do you have umm swords? And bows and arrows?"

"Well that's a dumb question you have there, sir. We are a weapon shop what else could we have?" she laughed a little, placing her hands on her hips.

"Don't mind him, he is generally dim witted." Minghao appeared at his side, patting his back. "Can you show us the swords first please?" he asked.

"Of course. Right this way." the young woman answered, leading them at the back of the shop where the sword display was located.

Minghao motioned for Mingyu and Wonwoo to follow them. The girl stopped in a row of about five swords, and Minghao tried not to look too surprised by the lack of variety. This was not Gisa. Wonwoo stepped forward and started exchanging information with the girl, afterwards explaining everything to Mingyu and him in simpler words. It was impressive how Wonwoo just seemed to _know stuff_ , no matter the situation.

"Well, he is tall and built up as I can see. So something like this?" the blacksmith took out a sword and handed it to Mingyu. It was long and shiny, with a simple leather handle. Mingyu eyed it carefully.

"Come on. Give it a swing." the girl urged him.

"Carefully." Wonwoo added, knowing what a clumsy mess his boyfriend could be.

Mingyu merely smiled at him and grabbed the hilt of the sword. It was long, longer than what he had practiced with Wonwoo. His arm wobbled from having the wrong momentum. The sword was too light.

"Umm." Mingyu said uncertainly. "Can't I just have a sword like yours?" he asked Wonwoo hopefully.

"Well..." Wonwoo trailed off and eyed the woman.

"If you give me a sword for reference, I can take a look and see if I can find something similar." she smiled politely.

Wonwoo made a motion and took his sword out of his belt, handing it to the blacksmith. The young woman gasped as she laid her eyes on the blade.

"Oh God where did you get that sword from?" she said excited. "The blade is so well-made and the decoration of the handle is so rare." she continued, eyeing the gem stones Wonwoo's sword had on its handle like a cat staring at fish.

"Geez Wonwoo..." Minghao muttered from behind, turning his head to the side so he could hide his eye roll. He knew it was up to him though to save the situation. "We are travelers." he turned to the woman with a forced smile. "We stumbled upon some people on our way here that seemed to be in much need of money. They sold us this gem for way less than it is worth. Lucky, huh?" he said.

"Very! These swords are only made in great towns like Gisa." she explained. Then she started looking around again until she found what she wanted. She climbed up a stool and grabbed another sword.

"I can't possibly find anything that closely resembles that, but you can look at this one." she smiled apologetically.

Mingyu grabbed that one too and swung it around like the previous one. It was shorter, easier to control, but still lighter in places that it shouldn't be. Mingyu had never looked more like a spoilt rich brat than now, when he couldn't get comfortable with a sword that was not of top quality.

"Won..." he turned towards his boyfriend.

"It will do." the knight decided. "It looks like hard work had gone into this. We will be happy to take it."

"It's one of our best." the girl smiled proudly.

"Then I’m sure it will be perfect." Wonwoo smiled back.

"So,” she asked as she walked back to the counter to place the sword down. “Anything else I can do for you?" she asked.

"Yes." Minghao stepped up again. "We'd like a bow as well."

"That should be easier." she hummed and went on another shelf, the guys following behind her.

Junhui clapped his hands excitedly.

"I did archery with Yanan back at Zhanshi. Not my specialty, but I can't wait to teach you." he whispered to Minghao.

"Only after I cover the basics." Wonwoo elbowed him. "Archery is not as easy as swimming."

Junhui pouted. "Fine..." he said, walking away to take a small stroll in the shop.

"Ignore him please." Wonwoo said and urged the girl to continue.

"So, what type of wood would you like? And I need measurements, string elasticity and arrow types you will be using." she said.

Mingyu and Minghao turned to Wonwoo with identical clueless looks.

Wonwoo smiled and dived in another conversation that required explicit knowledge. Mingyu and Minghao exchanged looks, somewhat amazed and somewhat creeped out. In a blink of an eye Minghao was holding a long dark bow with silver endings. The string wasn't too thin and the weapon wasn't too hard to inflect either. The bow was accompanied by a dozen of long thin arrows with their case. The tip of them was rather sharp and at the end they had beautiful black fletching. Minghao smiled, satisfied with Wonwoo's choice.

"Does it feel okay?" Wonwoo made him grip the bow properly, pull the string back.

It was one of the most elastic ones, easier for Minghao's low muscle mass to handle.

"I think so." he nodded at Wonwoo.

"Great. We will take that as well." Wonwoo smiled as the girl took the bow with the case in her hands and walked towards the counter at the front.

Suddenly, Junhui appeared out of nowhere on her path.

"Excuse me. Can I ask a question?" he slightly raised his finger.

"Of course." the girl replied.

"Do you maybe sharpen swords?"

"Of course!" the girl grinned widely. "To the best of our ability that is. Your friend's sword is really something else." she eyed the object hanging from Wonwoo's waist longingly.

"How about we give them for a sharpening Won? I think they need it after all." Junhui asked his friend.

"Will it take long?" Wonwoo asked the girl.

"Nah, about one hour." she estimated.

"Alright then." Wonwoo agreed and placed his sword on the counter. Junhui also took his own sword out, giving it to the girl.

"Wow, another masterpiece!" the girl's eyes sparkled. “This is not even from Korea, how did you-“ she mumbled to herself.

"You can take the new stuff and wait outside." Junhui said to Wonwoo. "I will wait until our swords are ready and then I will join you."

Wonwoo nodded and stepped outside the threshold, Mingyu close on his toe.

"Here, take the money and pay." Minghao handed Junhui the pouch with the gold. "I'm trusting you."

"Have fun!" the prince heard the knight shouting as they exited the shop, taking their new weapons with them.

Once outside, Mingyu stretched his arms above his head, his back cracking. He let out a small whine, one of his hands clutching at his spine.

"I'm so stiff." he said, trying to stretch his limbs as the three walked away from the shop.

"How about a massage later then?" Wonwoo asked, rubbing the small of his back lightly.

"Yes please." Mingyu sighed, taking a step closer to Wonwoo’s side.

There was no one on the streets around them, so Minghao decided to let them have this.

"I want a massage too." he frowned instead. "Where can I get a boyfriend to massage my back?" he asked, only to get embarrassed by himself right after. "Not that I want a boyfriend. Just saying."

Mingyu snorted amusedly, but Wonwoo looked at him sympathetically and linked their arms together.

"You can always ask Junhui to give you a massage later." the knight said and Mingyu couldn’t hold back his laughter this time.

"Ew, no." Minghao blushed.

Wouldn't it have been nice though? He certainly enjoyed falling asleep next to Junhui, especially when he sang to him, how would it have been if he also gave him a massage? It wouldn’t be something unpleasant and definitely something Minghao would not have said no to.

 _What the hell am I thinking about...?_ Minghao shook his head, horrified. "Let's take a look around as we wait." he said and walked ahead, leaving the other two laughing as they followed him.

They trailed back to the area with the shops, talking mostly about insignificant things.

"The clothes look so different here." Minghao commented, passing by a cape display.

"Don't expect to find expensive pieces of fabric here Minghao. And certainly don't expect to find Seungkwan's designs that fill your closet." Mingyu said with a low voice.

Minghao clenched his teeth. With everything going on, his mind had pushed the clothier's death to the side, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less whenever he was mentioned in their conversation.

"We'll never get to wear Seungkwan's clothes again, I guess." he said grimly.

With their mood a little down the three friends continued strolling around the bumpy roads of the village, waiting for Junhui to return.

"We should find somewhere to spend the night." Minghao said at some point.

"Not inside the town." Wonwoo hummed. "Not after we showed our swords."

"So we should go outside and find another clearing." Minghao crossed his arms on his chest.

"Let's go get Junhui hyung and leave." Mingyu agreed, flexing his shoulders. "Not that I'm in a hurry or anything." he added with a smirk.

"Not at all, who said that..." Minghao rolled his eyes his voice laced with sarcasm.

The sun was beginning to set when they reached the plaza again. It had been a little over an hour, and Junhui was sitting under the cherry tree, waiting for them. His newly sharpened sword was sitting next to him, along with Wonwoo's. The soft flower petals danced all around him as the sky above was now painted in a light blue and pink colour.

Minghao felt like a scene from a book was coming to life before his eyes, and he realized that Junhui would make a beautiful protagonist. A knight surrounded by flowers. This was exactly who Junhui was.

The prince averted his eyes, not wanting to connect the image in front of him with the dramatic Chinese knight he knew.

"Here you are." Junhui smiled at them when he saw them.

Wonwoo crouched down next to him and picked up his sword. He slid it out of its sheath examining the work of the female blacksmith.

"Hmmm." he hummed in approval. "Decent work."

"It's better than nothing my friend." Junhui winked and stood up, taking his sword with him. "Shall we go?" he asked.

"Yes please." Mingyu said quickly and hurried back to their horses.

"What's wrong with him?" Junhui raised an eyebrow.

" _My body hurts._ " Minghao said in a higher pitched voice. " _Do you want me to give you a massage later?_ " he replied to himself in a fake deeper tone.

"Oh my God, why was I not there to hear that?" Junhui whined.

Minghao just chuckled and followed Mingyu. The four climbed their horses and rode out of the town, heading once again to the forest so they could find a clearing to camp.

~*~

Setting the tent had become routine now. It was usually Wonwoo and Minghao that were responsible for that, while Junhui secured their horses and the rest of their things and Mingyu prepared food. This time was no different. Minghao patiently sat with Wonwoo at the edge of the tent while waiting for their two other companions to finish their own chores.

"When will we start the lessons?" Minghao asked the knight absent-mindedly.

"Let's start tomorrow with the daylight. Are you excited?" Wonwoo poked him.

Minghao blushed and looked at his feet. "A little." he admitted.

"I'm excited too. I hope I can be a good teacher." Wonwoo replied before Mingyu yelled at them that the food was ready.

"You taught Mingyu how to swim _and_ use a sword. You're incredible." Minghao told him as they walked closer to the campfire.

"Yes, he is incredible, he is the greatest person to have ever walked on earth. Minghao you can't relate." Mingyu said, handing two bowls of vegetable soup to the two friends.

Junhui gagged at Mingyu's words and Minghao rolled his eyes.

"Honestly I'm perfectly fine without it." the prince said, taking the wooden bowl from Mingyu's hands.

They ate quickly and Junhui decided to guard for the night. The other three had a big day. When it was time to sleep, Minghao grabbed a spear blanket and some balled-up fabrics, and dropped next to the log Junhui was perched on.

"I'm not stepping anywhere near that tent tonight." he declared.

"Did they exile you?" Junhui snickered as he mixed the fire.

"I exiled myself. There's only so much my innocent soul can take." Minghao said, making himself as comfortable as possible. It was undoubtedly colder out here than in the tent.

"Maybe we should make two tents from now on." Junhui hummed.

"We can't carry two tents." Minghao yawned. "Anyway. Good night." he said and turned his back to Junhui.

"Goodnight Haohao~" Junhui sing-songed.

The day had been eventful for Minghao, with the purchase of new weapons, the reminder of Seungkwan's demise and well, that pretty cherry tree image. For some reason, it felt important. He replayed those moments again and again in his head, until he lost control of his thoughts, until he could no longer recognize reality from imagination.

He realized he was dreaming the moment he felt himself jump of a huge cliff towards a tiny pool. The fall seemed endless, but dream Minghao was not afraid of the water. He crashed through the surface with a loud splash, but he managed to open his eyes underwater. He saw ship wreckages, pirate flags. A tuft of blonde hair and designer clothes.

Minghao tried to swim to the surface but struggled. There was something invisible that was dragging him towards the bottom. Panic started wrapping around his throat when he felt the oxygen leaving, his lungs burning as he fought the liquid around him. He fainted when he was completely out of breath, letting the shadows envelop him as his sunk in the pitch-black abyss.

Yet he didn't wake up. Once everything was dark, he saw a pink petal slowly falling down, silently and elegantly, until it landed on a sword with a red ribbon tied around its handle.

And in that darkness, Minghao realized that this was not a nightmare. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't see anything past the sword, but he didn't need to. The pink petal and the red-ribboned sword were enough for him. This is what he had been looking for.

Suddenly, steps were heard. Minghao took his eyes away from the petal and looked towards the sound. Two familiar boots made their way towards the sword.

"Hi." Minghao tried to say, even though his voice was long gone, along with his breath.

The man somehow heard him. He stopped before he reached the sword and turned to look at him. Minghao couldn't see his face, but he smiled non the less. He really felt like smiling.

The person's aura enveloped Minghao. He immediately felt safe, secure, even if his breath was out of his lungs and his voice was gone. It was like that person could protect him from everything.

Just when he was about to speak again, he felt the world crumbling to pieces, as heavy shake on his shoulder reaped him out of the dreamland.

"Minghao? Are you okay? You're breathing funny."

The prince opened his eyes and took a deep breath. And one more. And then he turned to the Chinese knight who was slightly leaning over him, his hand still on his shoulder. Minghao smiled at him and softly patted his hand.

"I'm fine, go get your sword and talk to me later." he said, closing his eyes again.

Junhui arched his eyebrow.

"Minghao my sword is right here. What are you talking about? "he asked.

But the prince was already asleep again, a small smile painted on his face.

~*~

"Mingyu dodge it! Don't ran away!"

It was Wonwoo's voice that woke the young prince the next morning. He blinked his eyes open, trying to adjust them to the morning light.

Once his eyes started working again, he was greeted by the scene of Mingyu, in all his 1.86 meter of glory, backing away from his boyfriend, his new sword held limply in his hands.

"Give me a second, I don't want to hurt you!" he was saying.

So this was still a thing, Minghao thought. Mingyu was still unhealthily attached to the knight. They really needed to work on that before it got out of hand.

"Good morning Haohao."

Minghao's attention was moved to the voice of the other knight, who was leaning his head against the log, his eyes drooping close. Minghao was sure he imagined the wash of relief that fell upon him when he saw Junhui. Must have been that weird dream of his.

"Morning." he mumbled, sitting up. "What's going on?" he asked pointing at the couple in front of him.

"They just started, you didn't miss much. Mingyu's being a whimp." he explained briefly.

Wonwoo dropped his sword and crouched down next to where Mingyu had sat at the ground, a distressed grimace on his face. Wonwoo tried to hold Mingyu's hand, the one that was still gripping the sword, saying encouraging words to him.

Minghao observed with pride as his friend nodded and got on his feet, seemingly accepting that he was going to have to attack his lover. Mingyu was facing his problems instead of avoiding them. That was good.

"Do you think I should take Wonwoo's place instead?" Junhui asked, looking a bit concerned.

"No, let them. It's a good exercise." Minghao replied. "Also, come here and sleep already, you look like a panda with those dark circles." he patted his small sleeping place behind his back.

"I think I have too much energy to sleep." Junhui sighed.

"Do you want me to sing to you?" Minghao smiled at him, willing his cheeks to not get red.

"Can you sing?" the knight asked surprised.

"No, but I can always try." Minghao shrugged.

"I don't want to trouble you though." Junhui said as he laid beside him.

"You don't trouble me, stupid." Minghao stuck his tongue out. “Besides you have sung to me many times before, so I would like to return the favour.” he shrugged.

“But just to be clear, I don’t know a lot of lullabies. I can sing that one that my mom used to sing to me before bed." the prince added, the lightness in his chest from the dream apparently still present.

"Alright then show me what you've got." the Chinese smiled and nuzzled inside the blanket.

So Minghao closed his eyes, took a deep breath of the clean air of the forest, and began mouthing the only Chinese melody he remembered. He sang quietly, only for Junhui to hear. The other two had their own issues to solve through the clanking of their swords. Minghao didn't dare look down at Junhui’s face next to him, instead focusing on the morning light bathing the small clearing.

The song ended too soon, so Minghao repeated it. He wanted to drag this peaceful morning for as long as possible. He stopped only when he felt the other curling up a bit more, his breaths evening out.

As Minghao’s voice went out, he let his eyes wander around the forest for a bit before they landed on Junhui. The knight had fallen asleep curled up in himself like a cat, his ribs rising and fallig with every breath he took. Minghao smiled fondly at the sight.

When it came to comfort, he seemed to have the same power over Junhui as the knight had over him. It was so unexpected. A few months ago, Junhui had threatened to kill him. Now, he was easily falling asleep next to him, trusting Minghao to the fullest.

Unlike last time, Minghao let his hand brush through Junhui's hair. He had decided to not hide how much he cared anymore, and this small sign of affection was okay now.

Unexpectedly, Junhui leaned into his touch. Minghao blushed, his cheeks becoming pink like that cherry blossom's petals. But for an unknown reason, he didn't stop his ministrations. He continued caressing the soft brown locks of Junhui's hair.

Minghao blamed it on the peacefulness that he acted like this. He was certainly not a touchy person. He valued his private space a healthy amount. The only exception all those years had been Mingyu and Chan, and that was because they had known the prince since practically forever.

Yet here he was now, willingly touching another person in the softest way possible, and also letting him touch him too. The realization wasn't very reassuring. Minghao sighed deeply and leaned his forehead on his knees.

He was changing. And he was doing it willingly. Nobody was forcing him to suddenly be buddy-buddy with Junhui, or even Wonwoo for the matter, but he was doing it anyway. He reasoned it was because they were all he had now. Back at the castle, he hadn’t been forced to spend every minute of the day with his friends, he hadn’t been relying on them to survive, but now he did. He could mock Junhui all he wanted, but a part of him really had the mentality of a wolf pack. Instinct was really a strange thing.

Minghao snapped out of his thoughts as a pained yelp was heard.

"Ouch! Wonwoo~" Mingyu whined, caressing his hand where Wonwoo had hit him lightly. Fortunately they were training with their swords' sheaths on.

"That's what you get for holding back." Wonwoo smirked at him. "Come on love, I know you can do better than that."

"But..." Mingyu started to protest, but he was cut by the knight stepping closer giving him a soft peck on his lips.

"Mingyu you won't hurt me love. I'm a trained soldier. I don't get injured so easily. Especially from an uncovered sword." he cupped Mingyu’s cheek.

Minghao sighed at Mingyu's furrowed eyebrows. He wasn’t running away from his problems, but that didn’t necessary mean that he was succeeding in solving them. At least he was trying. Wonwoo was very patient too. They seemed like they were going to be fine.

Minghao felt happy when Mingyu actually started attacking. Wonwoo blocked him easily, talking non-stop about what he was doing, and how Mingyu could do it as well. Mingyu nodded, switching to defense so he could copy Wonwoo's moves. Surprisingly, he did it well enough. Much less gracefully than Wonwoo, but at least he wasn't nicked again.

"See? I told you. You're good at this love." the prince heard the knight saying between his hits.

"Let me try a bit more." Mingyu said, not breaking his concentration.

Wonwoo nodded and returned in a defensive stance once again, letting Mingyu attack him freely.

"Steady your front leg! It's your base. It must be firm so your attacks will be powerful and with a better aim." Wonwoo said again.

Mingyu managed to crack a smile at that.

"I feel like I've listened to those sentences a billion times already." he said, before focusing on his attacks again.

"Yet you’re still unsteady." Wonwoo teased him as he dodged Mingyu's sword again.

As the time passed, Mingyu was getting more confident. He moved faster and his grip was tighter. The improvement was so fast, Minghao had to blink several times to take it all in.

"There it is." Wonwoo said, defending himself. "That's the level I remember you were back at Gisa."

The last sentence definitely made Mingyu feel more confident, because with a quick spin he hit the other's weapon from underneath, successfully sending it flying on the air only to fall a few steps away.

Minghao gapped yet again at his best friend. Who would have thought that Mingyu of all people, that giant-sized puppy, would not only hold a sword one day but also succeed in unarming a whole knight?

Well, Wonwoo was probably going easy on purpose, but still.

"Yes!" Wonwoo cheered. "I remember that move. You used it the last time you disarmed me, right?" he asked, picking up his sword.

"I did!" Mingyu replied, excited. He then looked at Minghao's way. "Minghao! Did you see that!?" he squealed.

"Shhh!" the prince put his finger on his lips, covering Junhui's ear with his other hand. The knight stirred a little, but he wasn't awakened. Minghao showed a thumbs up at Mingyu, accompanied by a proud smile.

His friend started jumping around, happiness radiating from him.

"Come love, let's take a break." Wonwoo said and approached the prince. He sat by his side and watched as Junhui mumbled something in his sleep. "He fell asleep quickly.” he commented quietly, straightening the fabric that was tangled under Junhui. "I'm surprised."

Minghao just ran his fingers through Junhui's hair again, careful not to wake him up.

"Great job with Mingyu." he told Wonwoo. "I never imagined he was on that level."

"It was hard at the beginning I should tell.” Wonwoo said. “Especially because Mingyu is left-handed. Swords aren't made for people who use their left hand. So it was difficult for him to grasp the sword properly."

At that moment Mingyu came to join them, sitting in front of Wonwoo and leaning his back on the knight's chest. Wonwoo swept Mingyu's bangs away and pressed a sweet kiss on his forehead making the footman sigh in contentment.

"But he did it. And I'm really proud for him." Wonwoo continued, eyeing his boyfriend with a look that screamed _'love'_.

"Ugh, Junhui, why are you letting me deal with those two alone." Minghao looked back at the sleeping knight, brushing his fringe off his forehead.

"So now I'm ready to continue from where we left of at Gisa, right?" Mingyu ignored his friend and leaned his head back to talk to Wonwoo.

"Of course love. Though I was thinking if you wanted to try having a duel with Junhui as well, while I work with Minghao's bow. How does that sound, hm?" Wonwoo suggested, nuzzling further in Mingyu's brown hair.

Mingyu nodded vigorously, pecking Wonwoo's lips above him.

"Don't wake Junhui up now. He was very tired." Minghao interjected, making the other two look at him questioningly.

"Since when do you care how tired Junhui hyung is?" Mingyu asked with a smirk on his lips.

"Since he's been guarding all of us for a whole night." Minghao deadpanned.

That was not the entire truth, Minghao noticed, but he went with it anyway. Mingyu didn't need to hear anything else right now.

"Alright we will leave Junhui to sleep and once he wakes up Mingyu can practice with him." Wonwoo declared.

"Yes." Mingyu nodded his head quickly and Minghao rolled his eyes one more time at how whipped his friend was.

"Minghao? Are you ready?" Wonwoo looked at him with an inviting smile.

Minghao looked at him skeptically. "I don't know." he admitted.

"If I did it, so can you." Mingyu patted his leg. "Don't worry, I will stay here and lovingly brush Junhui's hair while you're gone." he snickered and Minghao kicked.

"Ouch!" Mingyu whined and rubbed his aching knee. Wonwoo laughed quietly from above him. "Don't laugh. I'm hurt." Mingyu pouted.

"Poor you." Wonwoo kissed his forehead, but then gently pushed him forward to get up. "Come on Minghao. Grab your bow and let's start."

Minghao nodded and stood up. He gave a last look at Junhui's sleeping figure and then proceeded to take his bow and arrows from their supplies. When he retrieved the weapon, he walked towards Wonwoo who was waiting for him at the edge of the clearing, where the forest started again.

"Let's go a little further inside. We don't want anyone to get hurt." the knight smiled and Minghao nodded.

After they were a safe distance away from their camp, Wonwoo stopped and faced him.

"Okay, first of all, relax. Training is fun. I don't expect you to become an expert in one day, yeah?" he said, taking Minghao's bow from his hand.

"Alright." Minghao said in a small voice and watched as Wonwoo started to guide him at how to use the said weapon.

He first demonstrated how to hold the bow, how to arm it, and how to aim. Wonwoo closed one eye, straightened his back and smoothly shot the arrow, plugging it at the trunk of a tree. He made it look effortless.

"Did you see my form? It's all about keeping your arms steady." he explained, as he took another arrow, slowly placing it at its place, pulled back the string and released it. The arrow hit the same tree.

Minghao’s eyes were focused on his stance, taking in as many details as possible. Wonwoo shot a few more arrows, pointing out theoretical details, about the resistance of the air, the slight curve long distance shots would inevitably do because of the gravity. He also went over the safety procedures, how to avoid harming himself and what to do in case he ended up injured and Minghao made sure to memorize those. He had no problem with learning theory.

"I'm speeding past the lecture because I know you get this stuff easily." Wonwoo said. "I didn't let Mingyu touch a sword the first two lessons because I had to make sure he got the theory and safety measures." he snickered at the memory.

"You made a wise decision there. I don't want to know how I would have reacted if Mingyu had come back to the castle with a cut arm." the prince shivered.

"He was great at the actual duel though. Much better than me when I started." Wonwoo said with a proud smile for his boyfriend. "Let's see now how to convert all this theory into action, shall we?" he added, handing the bow back to Minghao.

Minghao took it and tried to reenact the knight's previous stance.

"Oh, you've being paying attention." Wonwoo praised him. "Lower your shoulders a bit, and bend that hand." he pointed out, straightening Minghao's body accordingly. "Spread your legs a little, this one a bit behind the other. It will give you a better balance for the beginning." he subtly pushed his legs as he said so.

Minghao followed Wonwoo's instructions carefully, trying at the same time to memorize the feeling of the right stance.

"Great. So whenever you're ready..." Wonwoo said and took a step behind.

Minghao closed one eye and tried to aim like Wonwoo had told him. He tried to pull the string back, but it was stiffer than he had anticipated. His hand shook as he released the arrow. It made a small, pitiful curve before unceremoniously landing to the ground. Minghao turned to Wonwoo with an apologetic look.

"It's alright, it's alright." Wonwoo patted his back. "I left you alone for your first shot because you might have gotten it just from the theory and I wouldn't want to mess that up with pointless explanations. Some of our archers were like that." he said. "But let's do this properly now. I'll talk you through it. Draw another arrow and place it at that small gap." he began, guiding Minghao step by step.

Minghao once again obeyed. His took the thin arrow and placed it between his fingers. He inhaled and stretched the string.

"Alright, aim the center of the tree." Wonwoo said softly and came behind him. The knight took the same stance as Minghao, placing his hands on his waist. Wonwoo was a little taller than him so he could easily peer through his shoulders and help him.

"Lift your arm a little..." he instructed. "And… shoot."

This time, the arrow flew straight, much like the ones the knight shot before. It missed the tree, but it embedded itself on the ground, a few meters away from them.

"That was better, wasn't it?" Wonwoo said encouragingly, pulling another arrow and placing it on Minghao's hands. "Let's do it one more time." he mumbled, angling the prince's hands. "Relax your shoulders, pull back the string, aim..." he instructed carefully.

Minghao held the bow tightly, determined not to let it move as he shot. He tried to aim perfectly at the center, taking more time than in his previous attempts.

"Don't take too long to release the arrow because your muscles will start to tremble." Wonwoo advised, grabbing his forearm and holding it still. "Shoot."

Minghao released the third arrow. The slim wooden weapon pierced the air and dig inside the tree's trunk. It was a lot easier with Wonwoo holding him steady and basically aiming for him, but Minghao felt the success anyway.

"That's it!" Wonwoo exclaimed.

Minghao's eyes sparkled with joy. He did it. A warm satisfaction grew in his stomach and a genuine smile formed on his thin lips.

"Thank you." he turned to Wonwoo.

The knight took a step back and shook his hands.

"Nonsense. The good part starts now. Come on, next one!" he clapped his hands, urging Minghao to continue.

~*~

Hours had passed when Minghao's hands started to get numb. He informed Wonwoo of that and the knight immediately took the bow away, forcing him to sit down and relax.

"Don't worry we have plenty of time to train." Wonwoo voiced, trying to make the small pout on Minghao's lips disappear.

"I haven't managed to hit the center yet." the prince said.

"It's only your first day." Wonwoo ruffled his hair playfully. "Your hard work will pay off, don't worry."

The prince huffed. "Alright, alright." he said and leaned his back on a tree. "Handling weapons is difficult."

"Life is difficult." Wonwoo replied darkly. "Shall we go back to the people that make it a little easier?" he asked, offering a hand to help Minghao up.

"Easier? Speak for yourself." Minghao mumbled as he took the knight's hand.

"If that's what you think." Wonwoo said simply.

His words caught Minghao off guard. The prince was so used to his friends teasing him and pushing him to reveal things, but Wonwoo wasn't like that at all. He gave him space to think and that was worse than every attempt his friends used to make to get him to admit his feelings. It made him actually question himself instead of stubbornly denying every accusation.

Did he truly think that Junhui made his life harder? That was a question he had to file and explore later.

The two gathered the arrows and then walked back towards the clearing. A meter away from their camp, they heard loud voices. Without a second thought they ran towards the clearing. When they reached there though, instead of the dreadful situation the thought they would find, they saw Mingyu and Junhui training.

"This is impossible, sir Wen! Thou shall not emerge victorious from this duel!" Mingyu was yelling, his voice theatrically imposing.

"Alas! You shouldn't have dishonored my sister if you valued your life! Perish, peasant!" Junhui shouted back, going on the offence, his moves unnecessary graceful.

Wonwoo facepalmed while Minghao threw his head back laughing.

"Oh my God. You leave Junhui to do a serious job and this is what you get." the prince said and continued laughing.

"Silence sister!" Junhui turned his sword to him and Minghao raised an eyebrow. "You dishonored the name of this house for the last time!"

It was Wonwoo's turn to laugh.

"Yah! Who are you calling sister!?" the prince yelled.

"Don't fool yourself knight, your battle is with me!" Mingyu raised his sword, effectively throwing the distracted Junhui off balance.

"What should we do with them?" Wonwoo shook his head as Mingyu and Junhui started 'fighting' again.

"Burn them." Minghao crossed his hands in front of his chest. "That will 'dishonor' them once and for all."

"Don't be like that." Wonwoo giggled. "They're trying to have fun."

"Excuse you. You aren't the one that they called sister." the prince huffed.

"You'd make a pretty sister." Wonwoo patted his back.

"That doesn't help at all." Minghao shook his head and marched towards their camp. "Alright, break it up! Time for food!" he yelled at the two.

"But we just started sister- I mean Minghao!" Mingyu whined.

"I'll shoot you with my arrows Kim Mingyu!" Minghao slapped his arm.

"Come on love. Let's start cooking and we can train again later." Wonwoo patted his back lovingly.

"You ruined our game." Junhui came from behind, pouting.

“Food is more important. Have you eaten anything all day?” Minghao asked him.

"Honestly no. He whined at me to go train as soon as I opened my eyes." Junhui chuckled at Mingyu's blushing cheeks.

"Eat well tonight then." Minghao told him, taking a seat opposite of Mingyu to watch him cook.

After half an hour, Mingyu prepared another pot with warm soup. The four sat around the fire, a bowl on each of their laps, eating and making small talk.

The small talk was mostly Mingyu talking between mouthfuls about how much he liked training with the sword and asking as many details about the bow training as well. He carried the conversation alone, his words seemed endless.

Suddenly a noise caught their attention. The three friends turned their head and watched as Minghao cursed loudly.

"What happened?" Wonwoo asked.

"I don't know suddenly my hands stopped working. The bowl tumbled down and I spilled my soup all over my boots." Minghao said as he tried to take the liquid off of him.

Junhui arched an eyebrow at the situation. He looked closely as the prince wiped himself. His hands were trembling but Minghao hadn't noticed it yet. The knight sighed.

"You were pretty rough with the training, weren't you?" he glanced at Wonwoo.

"You know him, he is stubborn." Wonwoo smiled earning himself a glare.

"I don't know what you’re talking about. I didn't do anything." Minghao scoffed.

"Your hands disagree." Wonwoo told him, and it was only then that Minghao glanced down and took notice of his trembling limbs. He widened his eyes, shocked and a bit scared.

"What happened?" Minghao asked putting his hands under his armpits in an attempt to stop the trembling.

"Don't worry Haohao, it's natural. Let your arms relax, you put a lot of strain on them today." Junhui said comfortingly.

"But it doesn't stop." Minghao voiced anxiously. It was the first time that the young prince had felt something like that. Now that he was more aware of the situation, he could feel the burning under his biceps and forearms. His fingers were stiff and his shoulders ached.

Junhui saw how the prince's face paled as the minutes passed.

"Wonwoo. Why don't you and Mingyu stay here to take care of the things? Minghao would you like to come with me?" Junhui asked the other softly.

"What? Are you sure-?" Mingyu began with confused eyes, but Wonwoo interrupted him.

"Of course. Go on Minghao." he urged the prince to get up.

With unstable legs, the prince stood up and followed Junhui. The two walked towards their tent. Junhui toed off his boots and sat on the fabric, the other coming to sit right next to him.

"Come on, lie down. It's still noon, we can go for a walk later." Junhui said, patting the fabric of the tent.

"I don't want to lie down. I want it to stop." Minghao glared at his hands, his voice trembling a bit.

Why the hell was he getting anxious over this? It was stupid. Minghao hated himself as he felt his throat restricting against his will, as the tell-tale signs of panic began settling in.

"Shh." Junhui hushed him softly. "It's alright. There's nothing to worry about." he whispered. He took Minghao's hands in his. With his thumbs he began massaging the prince sore wrists. "What triggered this Haohao?" he asked softly, stretching each finger.

"I don't know. I didn't even feel it until Wonwoo pointed it out." Minghao said with a shaky breath.

"Okay. Let's just wait until it's over." Junhui said, stretching his fingers up to Minghao's forearms. "You used your muscles too much. You knew that this could happen, at least theoretically, yeah?"

"No." Minghao admitted shyly.

"Not any of your books said anything?" Junhui raised his eyebrows. "Poor thing. Wonwoo will feel guilty, just saying."

"Don't tell him, please, it's not his fault." Minghao said.

Junhui chuckled. "Don't worry Haohao. I won't tell him anything. Do you feel any better?" the knight asked as he rubbed the prince's knuckles.

"The breathing is hard." Minghao frowned. "I don't know what's wrong with me." he said sadly.

"Your muscles are sore. It's logical. Would you lie down please?" Junhui asked softly.

"It's more than that. It's... It's like when you dragged me to the deep water." Minghao tried to explain, hesitantly laying on his stomach.

Junhui's face fell at the memory. "You are afraid. Just like the previous time." he explained softly and pressed his palms at Minghao's back. “You get like this when you are scared. Physical exhaustion is not something you are familiar with, is it?”

"If I start crying again, ignore me." Minghao closed his eyes and tried to even his breaths.

"No, you won't. Not if I can help it." Junhui said and used his fingers to massage them prince’s spine and shoulders.

Minghao made himself focus on the touch instead of the ugly thoughts inside his head. This was awfully close to his imagination back at the small town. And it was as enjoyable as Minghao had anticipated.

"I'm always on edge these days..." the prince whined. "It takes the slightest inconvenience to get me like this."

"Aw my prince is stressed." Junhui cooed sweetly. "What can I do to make you feel better Haohao?" he asked.

"Just... be here, I guess. It will probably be over in a minute." he mumbled, taking deep, slow breaths.

"As you wish." Junhui said and then silence fell between them. The knight continued massaging the sore muscles of the prince’s body, tracing comforting patterns from time to time.

It took a few minutes. Minghao lost the track of time as he calmed himself. Junhui didn't leave, as promised. It was ironic that the more this anxiousness bubbled up, the better they were both becoming at handling it. Junhui helped so much, it wasn’t even funny anymore.

When Minghao felt like everything was alright again, he sat up and patted Junhui's hand.

"I'm fine now." he said simply. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." the knight said softly and ruffled Minghao's hair.

"Careful, you'll ruin your sister's hair." Minghao mumbled, not really wanting Junhui to hear him.

But Junhui, as always, did heard him and started giggling. "My bad, dear sister. Forgive me."

"I'll forgive you if you take me for this walk you mentioned." Minghao shrugged innocently.

"With or without our horses?" Junhui asked.

"It's called a walk Junhui. Let our poor horses rest for a bit." the prince said and got up, stretching his arms.

"Whatever you wish." Junhui shrugged, following Minghao back to their friends.

~*~

"One, two, three, four, up! One, two..." Wonwoo counted rhythmically while sipping his tea.

While Mingyu did have a generally strong body, it was important to keep fit. They all had to incorporate exercising back to their lives. It would be troublesome if they neglected it any further, especially now that training with weapons was going to become a constant.

Mingyu looked especially energetic that day, so he decided to blow some steam by doing push-ups and jumping up every fifth count. Wonwoo couldn’t complain, watching from the sidelines. Once again, he considered himself extremely lucky that someone as handsome as Mingyu was actually his boyfriend.

"And stop." Wonwoo stop counted. "Thirty seconds break." he commanded.

"Why don't you exercise with me? You don't train like you used to back at the palace." Mingyu said as he stretched, his voice only a little breathless.

Wonwoo sipped his tea innocently.

"I uhh need to monitor you? Yes. To make sure you are doing everything right." he said, blinking once.

Mingyu arched an eyebrow. "Who do you think you’re kidding, hm?" he put his hand on his hip. "You're just bored. That's the reason." he accused.

Wonwoo just rolled his eyes. "Come on, less talking more working." he said and began counting again. "One, two, three..."

But Mingyu ignored his words and with a smug grin approached him. He leaned in Wonwoo's space and whispered seductively in his ear; "I know another workout that would probably be to your liking. Are you interested?"

Wonwoo choked on his tea and clumsily placed his cup on the ground as he tried to control his coughs. Mingyu laughed and softly kissed the underside of his ear.

"I- it's still day." the knight tried to protest. "The others might come back anytime."

Mingyu gently bit his ear lobe before pulling back a bit, looking straight at his eyes. There was sweat at the corner of hairline and trailing down his neck. Tempting as always.

"It won't take long." Mingyu whispered again and dived to mouth Wonwoo's jawline. "I've missed your body, love."

Wonwoo let out an uncertain sound. There were so many things that could go wrong. Mingyu kept kissing and biting his neck teasingly, his breath hot on his skin. His arms were firmly planted to the ground besides Wonwoo's hips, biceps glistening from the workout.

"Please darling? For me?" Mingyu asked with a deceptively innocent look and Wonwoo groaned.

"My god, Kim Mingyu." he said before slanting their mouths together.

The kiss was soft but steady. Mingyu traced Wonwoo's lips with his tongue, biting down softly. The knight left a soundless moan, parting his mouth. Mingyu didn't lose the chance and slipped his tongue inside exploring Wonwoo's mouth gently.

It was so easy for Mingyu to make Wonwoo's body respond on his advances. If the knight didn't love and trust him so much, he would have been alarmed with himself. All it took was a few kisses here and there, and Wonwoo just gave in. His mind slowly blanked out until Mingyu's tongue was all he could feel.

With a quick move the footman swept Wonwoo up in his embrace and walked towards the tent. When he reached there, he slowly bended down leaving Wonwoo laying on his back on the soft fabric while he placed himself between the knight's legs.

"Tell me what you want." he growled as he nibbled Wonwoo's neck.

"I... Anything. Just do whatever you want to me." Wonwoo breathed, his fingers tangling in Mingyu's dark hair.

"Your wish is my command." Mingyu said and sat back up to take off his shirt. Then he grabbed the knight from under his knees bringing him closer to him. Wonwoo bit his lip as he touched Mingyu's tanned torso. The other smirked at the touch.

"Like what you see?" he glowed deep and moved his hips, his growing erection touching Wonwoo's behind.

Wonwoo hadn't even realised when he had gotten hard. It must have been the combination of Mingyu's handsome body, his hot touches and his seductive words. The footman could be so overwhelming at times.

"You're so hot, it's unfair." Wonwoo mumbled as a reply.

"You're even hotter love." Mingyu said and with a swift motion he removed Wonwoo's shirt as well. He immediately dived in, peppering Wonwoo's chest with soft kisses and kitten licks.

The knight sighed, letting Mingyu pleasure his body once again. He would never get tired of this feeling, of the small wet sensations that built his own heat, warming him up for everything that would follow. He dropped his hand to caress Mingyu's jaw, showing his appreciation for everything he did.

Wonwoo felt Mingyu going lower and lower on his body until the footman reached his hard on. He started nibbling at the fabric that covered Wonwoo's member, massaging it lightly with his cheeks.

"Do you want me to take care of you?" the knight heard his boyfriend whispered.

"Yes..." he voiced weakly, subtly parting his legs a bit more.

Mingyu knew how to talk to him, knew what to say to get him weak and compliant. His words turned him on almost more than his hot mouth that was touching his member over his clothes.

Mingyu smirked. He trailed his fingers around the waist band of Wonwoo's breeches and lift it slightly. He then started lowering it, exposing the flashed erection slowly.

"So hard for me baby. Look at you flashed and wet." he growled as he swept a drop of precum that escaped Wonwoo's slit with his tongue, putting him in his mouth right after.

Wonwoo let out a loud groan, Mingyu's low voice was music to his ears.

Suddenly, they heard voices from outside and they both whipped their heads towards the opening of the tent.

"Mingyu! Wonwoo! Where did you go?"

It was Minghao and Junhui, they had returned.

"Mingyu." Wonwoo hissed. "Do something!" he said and hit the other on the ribs with his feet.

"Where's my shirt?" Mingyu grabbed Wonwoo's thighs and flipped him over, trying to find the shirt he had previously thrown away.

Wonwoo yelped loud enough that the other two heard.

"Are you guys in the tent?" Minghao seemed to be getting closer.

"Mingyu we don't have time!" Wonwoo panicked. "Get out!" he groaned and forced him out.

~*~

Mingyu stumbled outside, barley managing to remain on his feet and not tumble to the ground.

"Mingyu?" Minghao watched him stand up straight. "Why are you shirtle-" he said, but realization hit him as Mingyu smiled at him sheepishly, his cheeks flushed.

"Hello," Mingyu squeaked. "You're back early." he smiled, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"We're not back. We never saw you. We'll be with our horses." Junhui wrapped his arms around the prince's shoulders and stirred him away from the tent.

"Wait- Junhui!" Minghao said as he was dragged away by the Chinese.

Mingyu sighed in relief as he saw the two vanishing inside the woods again. He whipped the sudden sweat from his forehead and entered the tent again.

"The cost is cle...ar." Mingyu's sentence died in his throat with the sight in front of him.

Wonwoo had wrapped his slim fingers around his erection moving them slowly in a steady rhythm. His head was tilted on the side, his reddish lips parted as soundless groans made their way out. At this moment the knight locked his eyes with Mingyu's a pretty blush decorating his cheeks.

"Mingyu, I'm sorry... I couldn't help myself." he whined.

"Fuck, Won..." Mingyu growled, feeling his cock twitching.

He climbed on top of the older and pinned his hands above his head.

"You better be sorry." he hissed in his ear. "Now you have to cum untouched." he said and quickly got rid of Wonwoo's undergarments.

He blindly searched around for the oil vial that he always kept hidden under some rugs.

"Mingyu~" Wonwoo squirmed. "This is unfair." he whined as Mingyu spread his legs further.

"I don't care. You'll do as I say." the footman dipped his middle finger in the oil.

Without warning it up, he circled around Wonwoo's rim before breaching him, without any warning.

The knight hissed at the sudden pressure he filled him. Mingyu rubbed slowly his inner walls, making the other groan in pleasure.

"M-Min-Mingyu..." the knight sighed.

"I want you to feel the burn today." Mingyu whispered at his ear and bit his neck with the intent of leaving a hickey. He purposely pushed a bit deeper than he knew Wonwoo would be immediately comfortable with, making the other's walls clench.

Mingyu curled his finger smoothly successfully hitting Wonwoo's sweet spot. The knight arched his back moaning out loud.

"There...That's it. That's your spot my love, hm?" Mingyu mumbled looking at his boyfriend's eyes.

Wonwoo nodded, clearly not trusting himself with words. Just like Mingyu wanted, this time the intrusion burned. He felt it like a shock in his blissed out state, a jolt that was bordering on unpleasant pain. But when Mingyu hit his prostate dead on, a more powerful shock washed over him, pain all but forgotten. The alternating sensations were leaving his body a mess.

After a while Mingyu dipped a second finger in the oil and dived it inside Wonwoo's heat to join the first. By then the knight had placed his hand on his mouth trying to muffle his moans.

"Off. I want to hear you scream with that pretty voice of yours." Mingyu slapped the hand away.

"Mingyu the others..." Wonwoo tried to protest.

"I don't care. Let them hear you. You sound really hot, don't worry." the footman smirked, fastening his thrusting.

"But- ahh." Wonwoo gasped for air. "Mingyu if you continue I-I will cum." he whined.

"By all means." Mingyu kissed his cheek, but his eyes quickly darkened again. "Am I that good love? Making you cum so quickly just with my fingers?" he said, licking his neck.

"So good... You're the only one that can make me feel like that Mingyu." Wonwoo sighed as his body was filled with goosebumps from Mingyu's hit tongue.

Mingyu let out shaky breath on his neck at his words. He was so obviously affected too, and the knight only got needier at the realization. He let his hand trail down Mingyu’s chest and belly and cupped his member above his clothes.

"Gyu you're so hard baby. Do you want me to help you?" Wonwoo asked and Mingyu looked at him.

His fingers lost their momentum as Wonwoo kept pressing his hand against him. He shifted his weight to give better access to Wonwoo and nodded his approval before resuming his previous rhythm of pleasuring his lover.

Wonwoo tugged Mingyu's front of the pants, releasing the footman's thick member. He immediately wrapped his hand around it, moving it to a rhythm that matched the movement of Mingyu's fingers.

"Ahh yes love. Just like that. This how I'd thrust in you." Mingyu groaned, urging his fingers to go a little deeper, spread a little more.

"Do it Mingyu... thrust in me. I want you love...Please." Wonwoo mumbled. It was clear that the knight had lost the sense of his surroundings.

Mingyu chuckled, low and gruff, and kissed Wonwoo's lips. He started thrusting in the knight's hand, his mouth muffling both their moans. Wonwoo's waist started lifting up to meet his fingers, creating a rougher sensation for the older. Mingyu kissed him deeply and thoroughly, not leaving any part of his mouth untouched. When he pulled back, Wonwoo was panting for breath.

"Love..." he breathed. "I need you... Now." Wonwoo moaned.

"I'm here baby." Mingyu murmured, caressing his cheek. "This is all you're getting today. You'll cum from this, because you're naughty like that." he said, feeling himself getting hotter just from the image of Wonwoo's desperate frown.

Wonwoo whined and snapped his hips forward trying to create some friction for his neglected cock. His other hand didn't stop though. He continued pumping Mingyu, trying to make him finish by scratching the slit and massaging lightly the shaft.

"Mingyu I'm gonna cum. I can’t hold it any longer." the knight moaned.

"You are? Show me." Mingyu mouthed at the sensitive part between the other’s ear and neck and with a large jerk, Wonwoo grew stiffer and released. His free hand came up to grab Mingyu's hair, forcing their foreheads together, as Mingyu continued to slowly thrust in him, letting him ride his dry orgasm.

"Good boy." the footman mumbled, eyes raking over Wonwoo's blushed body and his cum covered stomach.

"Mingyu?" the knight groaned as a few tears slipped down his eyes.

"Yes love? What is it?" the footman asked sweetly kissing the tears away.

"That was..." Wonwoo trailed off, too overwhelmed to finish his sentence.

Mingyu carefully took his hand out of the him, letting it rest on his waist instead. He kissed him deeply again, drowning out the small sounds the knight was letting out as he came down from his high.

Mingyu wasn't expecting it when the other's hand that was still loosely wrapped around his length picked up pace again.

The footman groaned in the kiss the heat in his stomach growing with every tug the knight made.

"Ah... Won..." Mingyu moaned.

Wonwoo wordlessly captured his lips again, not as desperate as before. He lightly bit his lower lip to ask for entrance, which Mingyu easily granted.

He slipped his tongue inside stroking Mingyu's velum lightly. It didn't take long for the footman to finish. With a scratch on his slit Mingyu reached his peak, groaning as he painted his stomach and Wonwoo's hand white.

"Careful, careful. We must not make a mess in here." Wonwoo mumbled between their lips, caressing Mingyu's hair with his clean hand. Mingyu buried his face in Wonwoo's neck and took a deep breath.

"Hmm...I love you so much. You're my everything." he whispered softly and kissed the heated skin of the knight's neck.

"Same." Wonwoo replied quietly, massaging Mingyu's nape. "It feels so... Powerful. I don't know how to explain it." he continued much to Mingyu's surprise.

Mingyu knew that Wonwoo wasn't one to try and explain what he felt. Moments like these were precious.

"Go on." he urged him softly.

"It's like.... I can't imagine how my life would be if I hadn't met you." Wonwoo sighed, threading his fingers in Mingyu's locks and hearing him hum quietly. "I hadn't realized it before the prison but… maybe... I don't know... Oh God this is embarrassing..." he blushed.

"It isn't love." Mingyu smiled on his shoulder. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"I... I just can't... I don't want to know a future without you. I feel it will be too hard." Wonwoo voiced and gave a small kiss at Mingyu's ear.

"Oh." Mingyu exclaimed calmly. "My desperate marriage proposal back at the prison suddenly doesn't sound so desperate." he commented.

"Don't phrase it like that!" Wonwoo blushed deeply and hid his face below his arm.

Mingyu laughed lightly and nuzzled the knight's arm away with his nose.

"I don't want to know a future without you either." he smiled and booped their noses together.

"I'm glad." Wonwoo replied, and the moment was over. "We have to clean up." he said, his voice more energetic and not as soft as before.

"Nooo~" Mingyu whined cutely. "I want cuddles~"

"We're sticky and gross. And God forbid anything drip on the fabric. You're the one who's going to face Minghao's wrath." Wonwoo pinched his cheek.

Mingyu widen his eyes and groaned. "Fineee."he said and sit up.

"Careful, careful." Wonwoo repeated as Mingyu grabbed his shirt and wiped his stomach.

"Ew Mingyu." Wonwoo laughed, watching the poor shirt getting dirtied.

"Do you have a better idea?" Mingyu asked as he started wiping Wonwoo's stomach as well.

“A shower would have been nice.” Wonwoo said dreamily. “We should make a stop at an inn or something tomorrow.”

"It's not a bad idea." Mingyu agreed. "Let's find the others and discuss it with them."

"Tomorrow." Wonwoo grabbed his arm and pulled him back down for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*BIG SIGH*) I- I have to say that I had forgotten that we had written so many smut scenes... Oh well I guess we love Meanie too much (and Junhao but I won't spoil anything.)
> 
> That was it for today guys!!!! I hope you liked this chapter too and like every other time... waiting for your opinion at the comments below!!!
> 
> So, until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy!
> 
> -SkWh


	21. Not alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello peopleeeeee!!!!!!!!!   
> How are you all? I hope you are doing great! Did you have fun on Valentine's day? I really hope you did, because you deserve all the love in the world. Always remember that!  
> And for those who were alone (just like me) I hope you gifted yourself with a nice day of self-love and lots of chocolate!
> 
> So! This is the end of one more week. And we all know what that means... the next chapter is out!!!
> 
> New people, new faces and new situations!!! But I won't speak any further.
> 
> Without any ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

It was the fifth village that the general of Gisa exited without new information on his quest for the prince and his companions. After the first village near the country's capital no one seemed to have seen the four friends riding pass there. It was as if they had disappeared.

He traveled from the sea to the roots of the mountains, but they had left no clues behind. Jihoon was somewhat proud and somewhat annoyed that his knights managed to cover their tracks so well. If they hadn't been disguised beyond recognition for the villagers to not recognize them, then the only way they could have taken was through the mountains.

Jihoon sighed at his thoughts. Mountains were dangerous. They weren't a place for unarmed passengers, the deep forest of them hid from wild hungry animals to starving thieves and bandits.

He was reaching the end of the main road, after all the detours he had taken to visit the villages. He had no idea how to proceed from there though. If they indeed passed the mountains, they could have been anywhere north now. But what if they hadn't? What if they were still south, hidden somewhere underneath Jihoon's nose. This mission suddenly seemed impossible to proceed.

The general sighed, deeply troubled. How him and only him could search an entire country alone for four missing people? Maybe Jihoon didn't think this through properly.

It was getting dark and he had to set up camp. He began riding away from the main road towards the sea to find a place to safely rest. Up until now he hadn't let his emotions interfere with his mission all that much. He just kept going forward, his mind only focused on finding the prince and his company. It was only now, that he had no idea how to continue that desperation started to bleed into him.

Who was he trying to fool? He was never going back to Gisa.

Jihoon rode faster and faster after everything he hadn't realised came crushing down on him. Not only he wasn't going to return, but he had also lost everything he had worked so hard for. He lost his home, his place as general, his honor and pride. His love....

His love. That was the reason he had messed everything up. He had selfishly left his kingdom just when pirates started threatening it again just so he could protect his love. But now Soonyoung was alone and Jihoon would probably never see him again. He would have no way of knowing whether he was alright or not, no way to help him.

Everything had happened exactly as he feared it would. He felt like a complete failure.

It was the first time that Jihoon felt that nostalgic feeling creeping up in him like that. It was the first time that he missed Soonyoung so much. His bright smile and annoyingly happy laugh. His small eyes that disappeared by his chubby cheeks every time his perfectly thick and rosy lips stretched. His blonde fluffy hair that fell off his head, smoothly decorating his oval face. His sharp jawline that sent shivers down Jihoon's spine together with the steward's well-made body.

His bright and kind-hearted personality mixing with his perfectionism and determination. His cute aura that radiated every time he saw something small and adorable. His warm and secure hugs that helped Jihoon forget every cruelty and difficulty in the world. His soft kisses that woke the butterflies in his stomach, making them dance around without control. He missed everything. He missed Kwon Soonyoung.

He stopped his horse in the middle of nowhere. He was searching for a place to provide some cover from the wind and any bandits that may happen to spot him thinking he was easy prey. But he felt like there was no point in searching anymore.

He just didn't have the energy to care anymore. He hopped off his saddle, took his sleeping fabric and laid it down on the hard ground. He barely managed to unbuckle his mare's reigns, give her food and water before he collapsed. He didn't even have the energy to tie her anywhere. He just crawled beneath a tree trunk, before turning his head to look to her sadly.

"If you decide to leave me too, I won't blame you." he said, curling in himself.

~*~

The evening found the four friends at the entrance of one of the biggest towns of Korea, after Gisa. With black circles under their eyes and tears from the constant yawning, they entered the wall and walked through in search for an inn to stay for a couple of days.

It didn't take long to locate one. It was right on the town's main road, a big building compared to those around it. It was made of stone and had two stories with balconies. The ground floor was a pub, which seemed full of life at the time the four friends arrived. The yellow lights inside fell upon a wide variety of men perched around the bar with the drinks and the small tables. The loud music coming from a piano, a mandolin and a flute could be heard all the way from outside.

"Shall we go in there?" Mingyu asked, his eyes shining despite the late hour.

"Are you excited pup?" Junhui teased him and ruffled his hair.

"Minghao and I have never been in a pub like this." he nodded.

"Then we'll have to take extra care of you." Wonwoo sighed, clearly not feeling enthusiastic about the place.

"Do you feel weird? Maybe we can find something else?" Minghao said and patted Wonwoo on the back lightly.

"It's okay. I've had to break up my fair share of fights at places like this, that's all. People tend to lose their control once inebriated." he explained and got off his horse. "Go find seats, I'll get the horses to the stable." he added.

The other three nodded and climbed down, leaving their horses in the knight's care. When Wonwoo left they entered the pub, glancing around sheepishly.

"You look like kids going to the playground for the first time." Junhui clapped their shoulders. "Look more confident so no one will attempt to beat you up. And I'm talking to you, oh 1.87-meter-tall former footman." Junhui said, assuming this cool facade he had back at the first day at the springs.

"Wow cool Junhui is back. "Mingyu snickered and with more confidence he straightened his back exposing his wide shoulders.

"So many people." Minghao smiled as someone drunkenly bumped on his shoulder on his way to get a refill from the liquor bar.

"Seungcheol-ah! Another one!" the man yelled in a gruff voice, slamming his cup on the counter.

"On it!" a black-haired man behind the bar shouted back as he took the wooden cup to fill it again.

Minghao looked at the two people behind the counter, serving the men non-stop. The first, was that black-haired man, walking around and grabbing drinks like he had been doing it all his life. He cracked jokes with the drunkards around him and occasionally yelled at the musicians to play whatever song came to his mind.

The other one was a tall woman. She was more careful, serving at a slower pace and rolling her eyes at some of the men's attempts to flirt with her. She seemed way to comfortable in the crowd of drunk men than Minghao would have been in her position.

"What are you looking at? Did that girl get your attention?" Junhui leaned closer to the prince.

To be honest with himself, Minghao hadn't thought of her like that at all. She was good looking enough, but the prince just wasn't interested.

"Nah." he said at Junhui. "There are much more interesting things in here." he said pointing at a makeshift dance circle where men of all kinds and ages where moving their limbs and singing their hearts out.

Junhui arched an eyebrow. "Seriously?" he asked.

"I'm leaving all the ladies to you tonight." Minghao stuck out his tongue, knowing full well how much it annoyed the knight.

Junhui growled as Minghao passed in front of him and walked towards an empty table at the far corner of the room near a set of stairs. Mingyu and Junhui followed him siting too.

"Should we wait for Wonwoo before we take something?" Mingyu asked.

"We can always refill." Junhui smirked.

Minghao hadn't noticed before, but there were also some girls running around the tables, serving and smiling, probably paid more to tolerate the consistent flirting of the townsmen. It was one of those girls in a black skirt that Junhui waved over with a wink.

"Good evening sirs." the girl said and smiled sweetly. "What can I get you?" she asked and waved her hips.

"What's your specialty love?" Junhui asked.

"We have great wine and even greater liquor." the girl giggled.

"Wine for me then. Let's keep it simple tonight." the knight said.

"How about you, big boy?" the woman looked at Mingyu, prettily throwing her blonde hair back.

"Um wine for me too. Please." Mingyu said and averted her eyes.

"What a softie." the girl cooed. "You got a gal back home waiting for you, handsome?" she asked, smirk not leaving her lips.

At that point Minghao saw Wonwoo entering the pub, scanning the surroundings to find them. After a moment he spotted their table, chuckling as he saw Mingyu covering his eyes with his hand because the waitress was showing off her breast.

Wonwoo wasn't one to get jealous, the prince knew so. What he had with Mingyu was special and he knew no pub girl could take it away.

The knight walked to the table and put an arm around the waitress’s shoulders.

"Wine for everyone _miss_." he made the last word sound deprecating. "And you might want to cover up, you'll catch a cold looking like that." he eyed her up and down with judging eyes.

Minghao stifled his laugh while Junhui shook his head and sighed. Mingyu on the other had worn his apologetic puppy eyes. As soon as Wonwoo sat down and the girl left with their orders, the footman lowered his head.

"Stop making that face before you make me kiss you in the middle of all those people." Wonwoo whispered to him, lifting his chin up with his finger.

Minghao cleared his throat. "Wonwoo. Your hand." he hissed.

"Right. Sorry." the knight quickly retreated his fingers.

It was the first time Minghao had to reprimand Wonwoo for getting too close to Mingyu. He was usually the one who could control himself. The prince had no idea where the confidence to act like he had come from. That was a totally new side to the shy Wonwoo, and judging from Mingyu's flushed face and bitten lips, it was much appreciated.

"I ordered everyone wine. I hope you're all okay with it." Wonwoo said, smiling sheepishly.

"It was our first choice from the start, so it is alright." Junhui waved him off with a shrug.

Minghao tore his eyes away from Wonwoo to look back at the dance circle. Everyone there seemed to have so much fun. A part of him really wanted to get drunk and join them, move around carelessly and loudly. He wouldn't be in danger as long his friends were there. As he was bringing his attention back to their own table, he felt the eyes of the woman at the bar on him. Their eye contact barely lasted a second before her services were required again.

Minghao returned back to their table, a questioning look on his face.

"Did something happen?" Wonwoo asked him.

"No... I'm just looking around." the prince replied.

"Be careful who you look at. Try not to make eye contact, some people are only looking for trouble." Wonwoo leaned back on his chair.

"I don't worry. I have two knights taking care of me." Minghao smiled and leaned back at his as well.

The lady that took their order came back with their drinks. This time, she didn't try to flirt. She threw a tight smile at Wonwoo, which he replied in kind. After she left, Junhui was the first to raise his cup.

"Well, cheers to passive-aggressive Wonwoo! It's a pleasure to meet you sir." Junhui laughed.

"Cheers to that." Minghao said and raised his cup as well.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes but eventually chuckled and clinked his glass with the rest before taking a big gulp. It was Mingyu who had stayed surprisingly quiet throughout the whole ordeal, silently sipping his drink.

"Hey pup. What's wrong with you? You're awfully quiet." Junhui asked patting him on the back.

"Nothing." Mingyu squeaked, his face getting even redder if that was possible.

Wonwoo slightly bumped him with his elbow and when Mingyu turned to look at him, he threw him a questioning look. The footman stifled a groan and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it, you look so hot..." he mumbled.

"Why the sudden admiration love?" Wonwoo smiled teasingly.

"You know... You sent that girl away... I belong to you and you only." Mingyu said, biting his lips in embarrassment.

Wonwoo merely patted his back and turned to the other two.

"So about those rooms we were going to get?" he asked.

"Right. We have to find out who we have to ask." Minghao pointed out.

"We cloud have asked the nice lady, but someone send her away." Junhui pointed out.

"There are more nice ladies in here that you can ask." Wonwoo replied curtly.

"I can go ask the man at the counter. He seems pretty familiar with the place." Minghao interjected, nodding towards the black-haired male.

"That should do as well. We don't have to flirt all the time so we could get information, Junhui." Wonwoo said and looked at the Chinese.

"You are both lame." Junhui sipped his drink. "At least Wonwoo's getting laid tonight. What's _your_ excuse Haohao?" he asked the prince accusingly.

Minghao coughed. "I don't need to get laid. I’m fine by myself." the prince declared with rose cheeks.

"Spoken like a true virgin." Junhui chuckled.

Minghao pouted and looked at Mingyu for support. His friend just shrugged. It was a grim reminder that Minghao was alone in this. Mingyu, sweet, innocent Mingyu, who used to try to capture butterflies and keep them as pets, definitely had more experience than him now.

"Whatever, I'll just go get our rooms." the prince huffed and got out of his seat.

He approached the counter, careful not to trip over a drunk person and leaned over the wooden surface.

"Excuse me!" he shouted.

The woman seemed to be occupied to notice him, but the loud man smiled at him brightly.

"Hey there young man! What can I get you?" he said happily.

He was much younger than he looked from afar, Minghao noticed. He couldn't have been much older than Soonyoung. The prince immediately felt more comfortable in his presence.

"Hi. Actually, I wanted to ask about the rooms here. Are there any available?" he asked.

"Oh, do you want to stay in our inn. Of course we have rooms. How many people are you?" the man got closer and asked the prince with a gummy smile.

"Four people. Two double rooms will do." Minghao managed to say before someone started yelling at his right.

"Seungcheol-ah! More wine!" he said, his overweight belly showing under his dirty shirt. Minghao subconsciously took a step to the left.

"Give a minute old man!" the Seungcheol guy yelled back.

"Alright then. You have to stay until most of the people leave though, because now we are a bit... busy." he said and filled a cup with wine and passed it to the old man.

"Oh, okay. We'll wait then." Minghao nodded and the man, Seungcheol apparently, patted his hand before getting to the other side to tend to another costumer.

Minghao returned back at his table and sat down with a sigh.

"So?" Junhui asked. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah, the man will get us to our rooms later, when there are less people to keep him busy." Minghao said. "I hope it won't take long."

"Let's relax then. It's gonna be a long night." Wonwoo sighed and took a gulp from his cup.

~*~

It felt like hours had passed since Wonwoo said that. The four friends realized that this was a very popular pub. They did their best to keep their spirits high, but tiredness was slowly getting the better of them. Mingyu's head was laying on Wonwoo's shoulder, and the knight was holding his thigh. Minghao didn't bother to separate them. Everyone in the large room was too drunk to notice their little intimacy.

Finally, it seemed like the pub was emptying. Friends carried each other in their back as they were leaving, singing and laughing loudly. Seungcheol and the girl at the counter could finally breathe, their relief visible all the way from Minghao's seat.

When he heard the door open and someone enter, the prince groaned tiredly. They didn't need more people coming in here, they needed them out. He slowly turned to look at the newcomer and he froze on his seat.

In front of the pub’s door was standing no other than Hong Jisoo the royal doctor. Minghao inhaled sharply as the doctor's eyes locked with his. He whipped his head back at their table so quickly that he managed to catch his friend's attention immediately.

"Minghao what happened?" Mingyu asked tiredly.

"Door. Doctor." was all he could say before Mingyu glanced at the door and choked on his own breath.

"Tell me what's the threat." Junhui said calmly, grabbing Minghao's palm in one hand and the hilt of his sword in the other.

"The person at the door is the royal doctor. He knows us!" Minghao hissed his pupils darting in pure fear.

It seemed as the panic was one sided though. The kind doctor calmly walked at the counter and both members of the staff immediately came to greet him. Hong Jisoo looked less professional than the friends had ever seen him, but his trademark kind smile and gentlemanly posture were as present as always.

"What do we do!?" Mingyu whisper-shouted.

"We have to leave. We don't have another choice. If he knows you then he must know about our escape." Wonwoo said.

"Yes, let's leave." Mingyu readily agreed, but it was too late.

After his brief conversation with the two people, the doctor started walking to their table, no sign of alarm in his steps. When he was close enough, he bowed to Minghao respectfully.

"Your highness. It is such a big surprise to see you here." he said, before slightly bowing at the rest of them.

"Please don't bow Doctor Hong." Mingyu whined, but Minghao kicked him under the table.

"Such a coincidence indeed. What brings you here Doctor Hong?" Minghao assumed his more authorative voice.

He hated that voice. He hated acting like a proper prince after all the days he spent just being himself. It felt wrong and twisted, but their survival might depend on it, so he swallowed his grief, straightened his shoulders, and decided to play the prince of Gisa one more time.

"I'm actually on a small business break my prince. But what brings you and your lovely companion here." Jisoo asked politely.

“Oh, you don’t know?” Minghao asked surprised.

"Should I?" the doctor laughed under his breath lightly, a questioning look marring his handsome features.

Minghao exchanged a subtle look with Mingyu who promptly pushed Wonwoo's hand away from his thigh. Were they so lucky that the doctor hadn't heard about their defect yet? If that was true and they played their cards right, they might actually get away with it.

"It is my first official trip as a prince, you see." Minghao started explaining light-heartedly. "As you see, I brought our footman with me, and those are the two knights chosen to protect us. It is important to get to know the kingdom I am going to rule someday, don't you think?"

"Isn't this a wonderful idea." the doctor exclaimed. "I didn't expect less from our young prince. Tell me then have you seen something interesting up until now." Jisoo asked again.

"Yes, I visited a couple of villages. I remained anonymous, of course. So if you'd be as kind and not mention this meeting to anyone else I would be grateful." he said, worried that his desperation had led him to play that card too fast. He needed to warm Jisoo up a bit more before he went and made him promise him things.

"Is that so?" the doctor wonder and scratched his chin. "Clever move if you ask me. Stay at the shadows so you could see the true colors of every place you visit." he nodded.

"I'm glad you understand. As expected from our trusted doctor." Minghao laughed, trying to expel the forced sounds out of it. "I have to ask though. This place is pretty far from Gisa. How come you're here on your free time?"

"Well I... I wanted to be as far as my job as possible. This place is the second best after Gisa of course. Plus, I have some friends here." he explained softly.

Minghao glanced back at the two people on the counter, the ones that had greeted to doctor so warmly. They seemed way more relaxed now. Seungcheol was caressing the woman's cheek and her arms were wrapped around his waist. Minghao should have known they were together. They looked happy. Jisoo's eyes followed Minghao's stare and the tip of his ears slightly reddened at the sight.

"Yeah, them..." he said, coughing awkwardly.

Minghao laughed slightly. "Well....Oh-" he exclaimed and Jisoo turned his face back at his friend's only to see them kissing each other gently.

"Jesus Christ. Please ignore them." he pleaded.

"It's fine. Nothing unnatural." the prince smiled.

There was a pause at the convention then, and Minghao was sure he imagined Jisoo's gentle eyes trying to look deeply into his, like he couldn't exactly understand what Minghao had meant by his words.

"...Yeah. That's true." he nodded before shaking his head and smiling pleasantly again. "You've come to a great town your highness. There are many places to visit here, I'd be happy to point out a few whenever you wish."

"It will be our pleasure." the prince smiled softly.

"You must be tired though. Where are you staying?" the doctor questioned.

"Here. We've been waiting for the pub to empty a bit so Seungcheol, I think was his name, could show us to our rooms upstairs. Are you staying here too?" Minghao replied, not bothering to lie about this.

They could sleep tonight, and tomorrow they would leave. It would be safe for one night at least.

“Lovely. The inn here is actually the most well known in the town." Jisoo said proudly.

"You're exaggerating again Jisoo." they suddenly heard a voice approaching from the bar and standing next to the doctor.

It was the woman, Minghao saw. But that voice, it couldn't be-

"Hello. My name is Yoon Jeonghan." the person said in a pleasant, distinctively male voice.

Minghao tried not to gape, he really did. After training for years at the palace to control his expressions, he at least managed to keep his face neutral. The same couldn't be said for the other three though. Junhui frowned and looked at him up and down, Mingyu let his jaw drop and Wonwoo had that awkward smile plastered on his face.

"Uhh, hello. I'm... Minghao." the prince said, hoping Jisoo would keep his promise and not reveal his identity.

"A pleasure to meet you Minghao. And how wonderful that you chose our humble inn to stay for the night." Jeonghan said as he put a strand of his long dark hair behind his ear.

Minghao honestly was near speechless as he processed the new information about Jeonghan's gender. Up close, he definitely looked manlier, with broader shoulders and a prominent Adams apple. It was the hair that was confusing and totally misleading from afar. The hair, and his admittedly too pretty face.

But if Jeonghan was male, then what was he doing with the other man?

Realization hit Minghao hard and he dared a look towards Wonwoo, who seemed to catch up as well.

"Uhhh yeah. It's a great place you have. Thank you for having us." the prince managed to voice.

"You requested two double rooms if I remember correctly?" Jeonghan darted his eyes around the table.

"We did indeed. It's cheaper that way." he explained trying to mask their couple’s existence. It wasn't a complete lie though. He just left the details out.

"Ah, it's great to see friends so close to not care about sharing a bed." Jeonghan laughed lightly and Minghao tried to force a chuckle as well.

Minghao prayed that none of his friends would react weirdly at those words. Surprisingly, it was Wonwoo who seemed to stiffen a bit, his eyes darting towards Mingyu next to him. The other two still seemed a bit lost, but Wonwoo had obviously made the connections. The long haired was very casual, even though he had obviously been making out with that Seungcheol guy before. It was weird.

"Well yes of course. We know each other years now. In the beginning was a little awkward but as we started travel around, we became more familiar with one another." Minghao said again and shrugged, trying to seem as unaffected from Jeonghan's questions as possible.

"I see. I hope the rest of you agree with him, you look a bit stiff." Jeonghan bent over to pick their empty glasses, still sounding casual.

"Of course we do. It's is just like Minghao says." Junhui said looking pointedly at Jeonghan.

Minghao's eyes darted to Jisoo then. He too had reacted strangely at the other's presence. His eyes were casted to the ground and he seemed a little too uncomfortable.

"Hannie, don't get too intrusive." he said with a soft voice, looking at the long haired with a tight smile.

"But I'm not. It's simply common interests. I'm really sorry If I said something that offended you." the long haired apologized, but it didn't quite meet his eye.

"You didn't, it's alright." Minghao waved him off.

"See? You worry too much Jisoo." Jeonghan said, turning his head and kissing the doctor straight on the lips.

That time even Minghao couldn't keep his straight face. He felt his jaw go slack as he heard his other three friends gasp from behind him.

"Yoon Jeonghan!" Jisoo shouted with a face red as a tomato.

But Jeonghan didn't stay to hear anything. With a wink he quickly left their table, vanishing through a door behind the bar, leaving the room plugged in a total and awkward silence.

"Oh my god I'm so..." Doctor Hong begun to explain. "I mean, I don't know-"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

It was the black-haired man from the counter, Seungcheol. He slowly approached their table as well, a wet towel slung over his shoulder. He too seemed flustered, but he controlled it better.

"Excuse Jeonghan, he usually isn't..." he told them, but made eye contact with Junhui and decided not to finish the sentence. "Yeah. Whatever. I'm sorry."

But the four friends still remained shocked. Seungcheol sighed.

"Well how about I take you to your rooms. You must be really tired. Jisoo can you please watch the bar for a while?" he smiled politely towards the doctor.

The doctor nodded, eyes not daring to look up. He grabbed the towel off Seungcheol's shoulder and walked towards the inside of the counter, picking up a dirty glass and continuing the washing Seungcheol had abandoned.

"You still want to stay, right?" the inn owner asked timidly.

"Well... We did book two double rooms already, so we will stay. Besides it's really late and I doubt we will find something at that hour." Minghao said with a low voice.

"Great. If you'd like, come with me then." Seungcheol's smile returned, albeit a little less excited than before.

The four friends got up and followed him up the stairs they were sitting close to. Minghao went last, and before he completely lost sight of the bar, he saw the long haired pocking his head out of the back room and smiling sweetly at a glaring Jisoo.

Minghao sighed. Just how weird his life could become? From his childhood friend being in love with another man, to meet three same gender persons that kiss one another? A headache started creeping up on his lower sculp. At least they had somewhere decent to stay the night. So the prince shoved his weird thoughts away and focused on the stairs in front of him.

But doctor Hong, of all people. He knew that man his entire life. He remembered him getting medical lessons in the palace when he was too young, and before he went away to a monastery for a few years to expand his knowledge with the help of the monks. He was always so efficient and kind. Minghao sighed. Well that was another proof that a person's preferences were irrelevant to their value as a human.

The prince still couldn't understand what was going on with the three of them though, it was too confusing. All he knew was that this Jeonghan had the freedom and the _courage_ to kiss both men anytime he wished. He hadn't even hesitated in front of four seemingly strangers.

Minghao sighed again as they reached the second floor. Junhui, who was just in front of him, grabbed his sleeve to pull him forward.

"Stop thinking too much. You'll have trouble sleeping again." he murmured.

"Junhui this is weird. I can't understand anything." Minghao said desperately.

"None of us, trust me. But it's none of our business, you know?" the knight replied, pushing Minghao to walk in front of him down the long corridor.

Seungcheol stopped in front of two wooden doors, near the far end of the hallway and the others crowded around him.

"Here you are." he said and handed them the keys. "There are individual showers inside the rooms. We want our guests to feel comfortable and enjoy their stay at our luxurious rooms. For anything you need, don't hesitate to knock at the door on the first floor, right next to the staircase, this is where I live. Thank you for choosing us to spend your night." he said in a formal voice, like he had memorized those lines.

His shoulders slouched a bit as he continued though. "And umm I’m sorry again about before. I hope your stay here won't be affected by that small incident." he awkwardly rubbed his hand behind his head.

The four remained quiet for a few seconds but then Junhui spoke up.

"No worries. Everything is fine. Thank you for your hospitality." he said and bowed slightly.

The host gave them a tight smiled and left, wishing them a goodnight.

Once Seungcheol has vanished down the stairs, silence fell in the corridor.

"And now what?" Mingyu asked.

"Now we sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." Wonwoo grabbed Mingyu's shoulders, pushing him inside one room. "Goodnight." he told the other two, before closing the door behind him.

Junhui sighed.

"Goodnight." he mattered in front of the closed door.

Then he unlocked the door of his and Minghao's room and entered slowly. The room was average in space and it had two solo beds. There was a door probably leading to the bathroom at their right and a small window on the far wall right beside the fireplace.

"Come on. Let's get some sleep." the Chinese said urging Minghao to enter as well.

Minghao looked at the two beds and yawned.

"Someone's gonna throw a fit when they see two beds instead of one." he smiled slightly, thinking about Mingyu's incoming disappointment to mask his unexpected own.

"They can squeeze themselves in one, I’m a hundred percent sure. They sleep curled up with each other anyway. They fit just fine." Junhui said and laid flat on one of the beds.

Minghao approached him and sat at the edge of the mattress he was laying, next to his thighs. He didn't say anything, just let his eyes gaze around the room tiredly. He was aware of Junhui's eyes on him, but Minghao didn't make a move to get up.

"Everything okay?" the knight asked him, after the silence stretched too long.

Minghao just shook his head slowly. He felt the bed deepen as Junhui sat up, drawing his legs in front of him.

"Care to share?" he heard him asking.

"The world is really big, isn't it?" the prince merely mumbled, trying to sum up all his thoughts in one sentence. "Just when I believe I found something new, there is always something greater just around the corner."

"Is it really a bad thing? I thought you loved learning new things." the knight questioned.

"I do. That's not what I mean." Minghao sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I just never thought how challenging it could be. It's not about learning a new piece of information about a place, trying new food, or hearing a different language. I feel like I'm expanding too. My limits are being pushed every day, and I'm discovering new things inside as well as outside. I didn't expect that." he explained.

"You mean yourself? You discover more things about yourself?" the knight asked again scooting a little closer to the prince.

"I guess." Minghao nodded. "I mean, a few months ago I couldn't accept that Mingyu was with another man and now I..." he trailed off.

"You?" Junhui urged him softly placing his head on his own knees as he looked at Minghao's troubled face.

"... nothing. It's nothing." the prince shook his head. "I mean, the whole situation with those three. I think I can accept that now." he added quickly, turning his head to look at the other.

"What did we say about being honest Haohao?" Junhui tilted his head.

Minghao gulped. Junhui got him. As always, the Chinese could tell when Minghao was lying to him.

"Come on xiǎo bǎo. You can tell me everything. I don't judge, you know that." Junhui change to his mother language.

"No, no, no. I don't want to talk about that. I need more time to think it through." Minghao said decisively and scooted away from the other. "And don't call me that." he made a face, trying to lighten the mood.

"Alright then." Junhui smiled and rubbed his back gently. "Time for sleep though. Stop working your brain so much."

"I'll try." the prince said and slowly got up, walking to his own bed.

He threw one more look towards Junhui's direction, surprising himself by wishing he could sleep next to him. He must have gotten used to their close proximity while he slept these past days. It was nothing to worry about.

He exhaled and took his boots off. After settling in the bed, he wiggled under the sheets trying to get comfortable.

"Minghao?" the prince heard from the other side of the room.

"Yes?" he answered tiredly.

"Just to let you know; If you need something, _anything_ , I'll always be glad to help."

A smile bloomed on Minghao’s lips. "Thank you. Me too." he said and turned off the lantern, plunging the room in darkness.

~*~

"Explain yourself. Now!" Jisoo growled.

The three of them had gathered in Seungcheol's room at the first floor of the inn ready to discuss about the incident Jeonghan caused, much to his dismay.

"Can you all relax? I know what I'm doing, I wouldn't-" the long haired stretched his hands above his head, getting comfortable on Seungcheol's bed.

"That was the prince, Jeonghan! You know, the one I work for at Gisa?" Jisoo frowned.

Jeonghan closed his mouth and Seungcheol facepalmed.

"Well.... was he now?" Jeonghan smiled innocently.

"I can't believe this!" Jisoo buried his face in his hands.

Seungcheol placed a hand on his shoulder gently, rubbing his back gently.

"Can you please tell us what's gotten into you all of a sudden? We aren't trying to hide our relationship but that doesn't mean we don't keep a low profile." he said serious.

"Didn't you notice? The tall one and the one that sat next to him?" Jeonghan raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to say something to us. Just speak clearly. It's too late for me to solve riddles." Seungcheol massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Come, lay with me Cheolie." Jeonghan patted the space next to him. "And I'm not speaking in riddles. Those two kids were so obviously together, or at least getting there."

"Wait what? How do you even know that?" the Seungcheol arched an eyebrow as he sat down.

"Jeonghan this is impossible. We are talking about a royal servant and a knight. If that was the case, then they wouldn't be here talking to us. They would have been already executed. Gisa doesn't take things lightly like these drunken men you have in hear do." Jisoo explained exhaling.

"Do you two really doubt me? Didn't you see that scene with the waitress when they first sat down?" Jeonghan turned to Seungcheol.

"Well... It could always be a coincidence." Seungcheol shrugged.

"What scene?" Jisoo asked tilting his head.

Jeonghan just smiled at the doctor and pulled him to sit next to him as well.

"One of our waitresses was flirting with the tall guy and when the knight came back, he told her off and glued himself to the servant’s side. Seriously, I had to buy Eunha a drink to get her to her happy mood again after complaining to me about them." Jeonghan shook his head and addressed both of them again. "What I mean is that there is no way those two are just friends, and your prince knows it."

"Even if that’s the case, you shouldn’t have done that. Their stay here is not permanent. They will return to Gisa after this trip, and so will I me after my time off ends." the doctor said. “I even be able to look at them in the eyes again.” he sighed in despair.

"Come on baby, don't worry. This won't interfere with your job." Jeonghan spoke sweetly, combing Jisoo's hair.

"I mean, not that I trust Jeonghan, but they seem suspicious. I did hear the things Eunha said. The knight was pretty… let’s say _‘territorial’_?" Seungcheol commented. “But we do need to talk to them tomorrow and clear things up.” he advised, scooting closer to the other two.

"I know. We own them an explanation as well." Jeonghan smiled sweetly and kissed Jisoo’s cheek.

“No you do. I have nothing to say about this.” Jisoo frowned and looked away.

"Alright alright, _I_ do. And I will.” Jeonghan chuckled and laid his head on the doctor's shoulder. “Come on. Smile for me."

"You don't deserve it." Jisoo huffed.

"But you'll do it anyway?" Jeonghan teased, nuzzling on the doctor’s cheek.

Jisoo sighed deeply. "Just to be clear; if I lose my job you will do whatever I tell you for the rest of your life. Oh, and you clear the mess tomorrow." he said.

"Sure." Jeonghan replied with a lazy smile, which Jisoo couldn't help but return.

"There you go. Is everything okay now?" Seungcheol grabbed both of their shoulders to look at them.

"It will. Right love?" Jeonghan asked and eyed Jisoo cutely.

"Fine." the doctor rolled his eyes, but the smile didn't leave his lips.

"I want one of those smiles too." Seungcheol pouted, kissing Jisoo's cheek.

Jisoo giggled and flashed Seungcheol his calm smile. He then gave a peck on his lips. "I've missed you." he whispered calmly.

"Hey." Jeonghan whined from the side.

"Both of you." Jisoo added.

"We missed you too." Seungcheol hugged him. "Seriously, Hannie drives me crazy sometimes." he whined, running a hand through the other's long hair.

"Yes, but now you have both of us here dear." Jeonghan pointed out.

“True, and I'm the luckiest man alive." Seungcheol wrapped his arms around both of them and dropped all of them back to lay on the bed.

"Honestly there's no better place than here I'm telling you." Jisoo said and nuzzled at Seungcheol’s side.

"There really isn't." Jeonghan agreed, enjoying the weight of the other two around him. "I look forward to spending the next days with you two."

"Do you have something specific in mind Hannie?" Seungcheol asked and pecked the others forehead.

"You'll see." he replied enigmatically.

"I don't like where this is going." the inner owner sighed.

“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure you will.” Jeonghan said and wiggled his eyebrows, making Jisoo giggle.

"I doubt it." Seungcheol sighed again but then chuckled as both Jisoo and Jeonghan nuzzled further in his embrace.

~*~

"Junhui." Minghao shook the knight lightly.

For once, he had woken up earlier than everyone. The sun wasn't up yet, and the morning light was barely enough to illuminate the town.

The beds have been soft and the sleep enticing, but they needed to leave as soon as possible. They couldn't risk staying in the same place as Doctor Hong, no matter the circumstances.

The knight stirred in his sleep and started mumbling. Minghao sighed.

"Junhui. Wake up." he said again, shaking the knight with more force.

Junhui cracked an eye open and looked at the prince. Then he glanced out the window and whined. "It's still so early... Are we leaving already?" he asked knowingly.

"Yes, we can’t afford staying here any longer." Minghao explained and went to ware his boots back on his feet.

Junhui didn't need any more convincing to sit up. He stretched his arms above his head and threw the blanket off of him.

"Are the others up?" he asked, taking a gulp from his water pouch to shoo the sleep completely out of his system.

"I hope they are." Minghao mumbled as he fixed the last buckle on his boots. "Let's get ready and then go knock on them."

"I'll do it. They had a bed again after a very long time, who knows in what condition they are in." the knight chuckled, earning a sleepy smile from the prince.

Junhui exited slowly and quietly from the room he made a few steps forward and then stood in front of Mingyu's and Wonwoo's door knocking on it.

He heard shuffling on the other side of the door and a bit later Mingyu appeared in front of him, fully clothed and rubbing his eyes.

"We're leaving?" he asked simply.

"We certainly do pup. I love the telepathy Wonwoo and Minghao have." Junhui smiled.

"He woke you up too, eh?" Mingyu yawned.

"Like you don't know him." the knight said sarcastically. "He is right though we should leave if we want to continue just like we are now. Together." he sighed.

Mingyu suddenly pulled the knight in for a quick hug and released him again.

"We're ready here." Wonwoo came up behind the taller, fully dressed, boots included.

"Great." Junhui knight answered him, patting Mingyu on the back. When the footman released him, Junhui gave him a small smile and returned in his room.

"All ready. Let's go." Junhui spoke to the prince.

Minghao lifted his head as soon as he heard his voice, nodding in silene.

They made their way down the long corridor, trying to be as quiet as possible. They climbed down the stairs, staying as far away from the owner's room on the first floor as possible. They reached the first floor silently, making a turn to walk towards the next staircase.

_"And where do you think you're going?"_

Minghao yelped and jumped back, falling on Mingyu's chest. It was Doctor Hong and Jeonghan. They were sitting at a table in the middle of the empty pub with two cups of milk between them.

"Don't scare them Hannie." Jisoo scolded the other. "Good morning everyone." he smiled kindly at the four.

"What-" Minghao squeaked but immediately cleared his throat. "Good morning doctor Hong. We didn't want to disturb.”

"It's alright. I always wake up early, and this time Jeonghan decided to join me." he smiled tightly at the other, who looked pained to be up at this hour.

"Well we didn't mean to interrupt your conversation. We better get going. Thank you for everything." Wonwoo bowed. They started walking towards the door when a cough stopped them again.

"Not so fast little ones." Jeonghan smiled at them and pulled a chair back inviting them to sit down with them.

The four looked at each other.

"We couldn't possibly. Thank you very much though." Minghao said.

"I insist." Jeonghan said intensely, leaving no further room for argument.

Minghao sighed and moved towards the chair followed by the rest of the company. As he sat beside Jeonghan he made eye contact with Junhui making a silent agreement to not let weird questions to be asked.

"Did everyone sleep well?" Jisoo tried to break the ice.

The others remained silent for a while.

"Yes. The rooms were lovely." Minghao answered shortly.

"I'm glad to hear that. You know, Jeonghan here didn't sleep well. He couldn't wait to wake up and talk to you." Jisoo elbowed the long haired.

"Talk to us?" Junhui arched an eyebrow.

"Well yeah of course..." Jeonghan said.

"What could you possibly want to tell us?" Minghao asked confused.

"See I... well you know I…" he began munching his words until Jisoo thew him a glare. "I wanted to apologise for my behaviour yesterday." he sighed and lowered his head playing with a strand of his long hair.

"Oh." Minghao said, exchanging glances with the rest of his company. "It's okay. We don't judge." he said hastily.

"I know you don’t. But we owe you an explanation." Jisoo said softly urging Jeonghan to continue

"You see, I’m a very observant person. So I couldn't help but notice you two as soon as you sat down." Jeonghan pointed at Mingyu and Wonwoo.

"What about us?" Wonwoo asked nonchalantly, even though Mingyu bit his lip.

"I don't think I need to spell it out. I can see that we're the same. So yesterday, I thought it would be fun to mess with you." Jeonghan shrugged. "Two very kind and wise people pointed out that I may have disturbed you, and for that I'm sorry." he smiled sheepishly.

Minghao bit the inside of his cheek. Yet again one more person that sniffed the relationship of Mingyu and Wonwoo. Just like Mingming had done. The stable boy had said the exact same thing too. ‘ _We are the same.’_

But Jeonghan wasn’t a mere stable boy, living in an inn deep inside the mountains. He came in contact with so many people every day. It was more risky to admit to him what they were hiding. Minghao had to get them out of there.

"And what could possibly make you think that you and my companions are the same." he asked.

"I'm never wrong about these things. Let’s just say I have a very sharp sixth sense.” Jeonghan explained calmly. “But I'm not the type to use my knowledge as blackmail. Especially to the prince of Gisa, right dear?" he asked Jisoo, fluttering his eyelashes.

"And how can we be so sure about that?" Minghao asked his eyes more serious than ever. "You should know better than anyone what happens if you blackmail me."

"Wait a second." Junhui interjected suddenly. "How do you know he is the prince?" he asked Jeonghan, subtly reaching for his sword.

"My dear knight. I'm Yoon Jeonghan the most well-known pharmacy merchant of Gisa. Of course I would know my prince." the long haired said with a smirk.

"Wait. You're _that_ Yoon Jeonghan?" Minghao furrowed his eyebrows.

"I have worked together with him for a long time my prince." Jisoo pointed out. "No matter what he says, he wouldn't-"

"Yeah you seem to know him pretty well alright." the prince said, shifting on his seat. "I don't see how anything you say concerns us. You're making your position wrong by putting false accusations on my trusted footman and knight. If you don't have anything else to add, we are leaving." Minghao cut the doctor’s sentence.

He knew that he was being rude, but they didn’t have time to spare any longer. They had to get out and as far away from this town as they could.

"You're a smart person prince Minghao. But you're not a good liar. You can't possibly trick me." Jeonghan said and Minghao glared at him.

"We mean good. We know better than anyone how it feels. To be rejected and to fear for your life. And we are three. Do you possibly believe that we would betray our own _‘kind’_? When we have experienced the same and worst?" Jeonghan said.

And finally his face relaxed. A mix of emotions graced his handsome features. Minghao could now see more clearly the pain and fear together tangling together with happiness and love.

"Minghao..." Mingyu spoke softly, grabbing the prince's sleeve.

All it took was a glance at his friend's face for Minghao to realize that those emotions were reflected on Mingyu's face as well. Wonwoo kept his face blank, but Mingyu was an open book. For some reason, he trusted Jeonghan.

"We don't want to threaten you or anything." Jisoo tried again. "The opposite in fact, we really don't want you to think that the whole world is against you. For whatever reason you left the castle, you're safe here."

Minghao looked and the doctor, then at Jeonghan and back at his friend. He felt so conflicted. He didn't know if he could trust Jeonghan he didn't even know if he could trust Doctor Hong anymore. But Mingyu seemed confident enough after what the two told them. So much that he took Wonwoo's hand in his rubbing his thumb over the older's knuckles to calm himself.

"There you go." Jeonghan exclaimed after he saw their linked hands. "Now tell us why you are here and not in Gisa." he said as he put an arm around Jisoo.

"I thought you owed _us_ an explanation. Tell us your story and then we might tell you ours." Junhui said with a smirk.

Minghao eyed the knight, feeling proudness bloom inside him. Junhui may couldn’t make up stories or excuses, but he was always clever and careful with giving out information about something personal.

"Hmm let's see..." Jeonghan begun thoughtfully. "I think it begun after Jisoo returned from the monastery he was training in medicine. He was an aspiring high-profile healer and I had just begun trading medicine. I needed connections so I got in contact with him. Well, long story short we _strongly_ connected." Jeonghan smirked back.

"Well we don't want details." Mingyu whined.

"What about your third piece?" Junhui asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I still wonder about that." Jeonghan snickered.

"Don't listen to him. He spends all his time here when he's not working, his house has collected three years’ worth of dust." Jisoo interjected.

"Whatever. There are free drinks here." Jeonghan rolled his eyes.

"There's also one Choi Seungcheol here." Jisoo said and turned back to the others. "Jeonghan met Seungcheol first. We used to frequent this pub when there was just the two of us and apparently, Cheol has noticed us. I was away on business one day and Jeonghan came alone and they began talking."

"It could have easily turned ugly if I had decided to be an asshole and not introduce those two. We were such a mess in the beginning, always feeling like were cheating on each other." Jeonghan made an unpleasant face at the memory.

"We can imagine." Mingyu smiled sympathetically.

"So how did you manage to establish what you wanted between you?" Minghao asked clearly curious.

"With lots of talking and lots of... well, intimate stuff." Jeonghan said shamelessly.

"Alright that's enough. I don't want more weird images in my head. I have already some from these two, so thank you very much." Minghao said clasping his hand over his ears.

"We're nothing unnatural as you might see. Rare? Yes. Sick and twisted? At least Jisoo isn't." Jeonghan shrugged again.

"I didn't mean it that way though." Minghao frowned.

“I know, but the world is cruel with us prince Minghao. It always was and it will always be.” Jeonghan sighed tiredly. “Monsters, freaks and all kinds of names we are called…”

“But if you surround yourself by people that don’t care, it becomes easier.” Jisoo spoke softly, his eyes falling on his lap. “Either them being drunken old men that can’t see past their noses, or friends that won’t leave your side because they love you too much to do so.”

Doctor Hong lift his face, locking eyes with the prince. Minghao wanted to slap himself. Of course, those three people have been through hell too. Just like their friends, they have been threatened and insulted, feeling cautious past the walls of their home. The only difference from their little company, was that Doctor Hong, Jeonghan and Seungcheol had only each other to hold on to.

“So,” Jeonghan spoke. “That was our story, nothing much really if you think it through. Now it’s your turn.” he gestured.

A small silence fell around the table, before Minghao felt another tug on his sleeve. When he looked at Mingyu, the prince found courage swimming in his eyes. He was ready to talk. So Minghao nodded, giving his friend the freedom to tell their story.

"Well let's just start from the beginning, shall we? My name is Kim Mingyu, I'm prince Minghao's first footman. This is Wen Junhui a knight from China, Zhanshi to be exact. Prince Minghao, you already know him, and this is Jeon Wonwoo a knight from Gisa's royal army and... my boyfriend. And all of us together we are...fugitives from the kingdom." the footman began narrating.

Starting from all the way back to the day him and Wonwoo met, to how they were betrayed and imprisoned and the plan and Junhui and Minghao made to get them out.

"Since then we started travelling around the country trying to see new places. That's how we found our way here." he finished smiling.

Jeonghan yawned deeply. "Cute." he said simply.

"That's... a lot." Jisoo said, more invested in the story. "Not the boyfriend part but... Leaving Gisa. Prince Minghao, you were supposed to be king one day." he said concerned.

"I guess that's not a problem anymore. My father is, _was_ a great king but some of his rules are cruel and wrong. I couldn't stand leaving in a world like that, knowing that my own father kills people just because they love someone different than what they are _'supposed'_ to love. It was bad believing that what you do is wrong and illegal. And I see that now. Because now I know that good feelings are never wrong." he said, and he briefly glanced at Junhui.

"But what about everyone you left behind? You were in a position to help everyone when you took over from your father. What will happen to the kingdom now?" Jisoo sounded genuinely concerned.

Minghao locked eyes with the table his mind filled with thoughts. What would his father do? Will Minghao be replaced by someone else? Maybe he should go back after all? But no that's not right. He left for a reason. He finally was free from those walls that surrounded him. He saw the outside world with his own eyes and not through book pages. And he had so much yet to learn.

"He is a clever man. He will figure something out." he said stubbornly and lifted his eyes to look at the doctor.

"Plus, we couldn't have made it so far without Haohao." Junhui said, bumping his fist to Minghao's shoulder.

"H-Haohao?" Jisoo said, a little taken aback by the familiarity the knight addressed the prince.

"Please don't comment on that. It's an agreement between us." Minghao sighed.

"Haohao sounds nice." Jeonghan agreed. "Since you don't have any power anymore."

"Jeonghan!" Jisoo looked at his boyfriend with wide eyes.

Minghao saw Junhui frowning at the long haired male. Quickly his hand grabbed his sword handle. He opened his mouth ready to say something but Minghao stopped him by placing his hand on top of the knight's.

"It's okay. I don't care how unimportant people see me." the prince said softly.

Jeonghan chuckled. "I like you." he said.

"Thank you." Minghao smirked back.

"Though I can't help but wonder; is your friend always so quiet?" Jeonghan asked pointed Wonwoo.

"Me?" Wonwoo raised his eyes from his lap. "I... I was just thinking. How much I admire that thing you do. You're not afraid to show your love in public. I don't know if I’m able to do that even if I want it so much. I guess I’m just tired of hiding." he confessed.

"But dear that's what I'm trying to tell you.” Jeonghan smiled gently. “That was actually the reason why I wanted to talk to you in the first place. Because I know that hiding only makes things difficult. I'm not saying you have to run around yelling about it, but you don't have to prevent yourself from expressing your love for him. Small touches and sweet words always do the trick." he winked.

"Like your two friends here, who are still holding hands." he added pointing at Minghao and Junhui.

They both widen their eyes as they realised that they were indeed still holding hands. Minghao quickly took his away while Junhui coughed awkwardly.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Minghao said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Jeonghan flashed them an amused smile. Mingyu chuckled as well, grabbing Minghao's other hand lovingly, mimicking his previous position with Junhui. Minghao slapped it off.

"Well, now that the mood has lightened, can we offer you some milk? It's fresh." Jisoo said politely

"I think some tea would be preferable." Minghao said.

"On it." another voice was sounded as Seungcheol appeared from behind them. He kissed lovingly Jeonghan's and Jisoo's cheeks and smile at the rest of the company.

"What kind of tea would you like your highness? We have green, black and with citrus." he asked politely.

Minghao smiled at the owner of the pub. He seemed to be the easiest to get along with. He radiated a simplicity and honesty that the other two lacked.

"Black please. Also umm, people should not know that I am a prince. You can call me Minghao." he said and the other three agreed with his decision.

"Alright then. Let's make some tea." the owner said and walking back behind his counter.

"Did these two give you a hard time?" Seungcheol started making conversation as if his lovers weren't present. "You should let me know if they get too much. It's a pub here, we're supposed to have fun." he said as he put water over a stove to boil.

His moves were fast and messy. He was clearly not used to making tea, but he had the habit of working quickly in his workplace behind the counter.

"Cheolie you make me sad. I would never cross a line and you know that." Jeonghan said pretending he was hurt. But the bartender looked him with an unamused look that make the rest of them laugh.

"And why am _I_ lumped up with him?" Jisoo asked innocently, making his words sound insulting.

Jeonghan huffed and pinched his arm as a response.

"Ouch. Hey!" Jisoo whined rubbing his arm.

"That's for insulating me." Jeonghan said and stuck out his tongue.

"You see?" Seungcheol told the other four. "Overdramatic." he waved some tea leaves around before tossing them to the water.

Minghao chuckled. Seungcheol was a lot different from the other two. It was refreshing.

"This is so embarrassing." Jisoo sighed.

"You're something else here Doctor Hong." Mingyu smiled.

"I'm really sorry. It's impossible to keep it professional with these two." the doctor sounded honestly apologetic.

"You don't have to apologise for anything doctor. It's refreshing seeing you a little less professional." Minghao smiled.

"It's also refreshing for us to see him more professional." Jeonghan winked.

"That's it!" Jisoo said and smacked Jeonghan's forehead. 

"Hey!" it was Jeonghan's turn to protest.

"Well you kind of deserved that." Seungcheol came back with a trail in his hands.

"Thank you." Junhui said and helped pass the steaming teacups around.

"Sure. I mean, if we don't bribe Jisoo's clients to let him continue working for them, what even is our value here?" he joked, ruffling the doctor's hair.

"Well I'm not his boss anymore. So everything is fine." Minghao joked back.

"Honestly you can relax doctor. Minghao doesn't eat people. He is sweet and kind despite he doesn't like to saw it." Junhui said gently.

"He's right. I bet you've done a lot more _eating_ than him." Jeonghan winked again.

This time, everyone tried to muffle their laughs as Jisoo laid his head on the table, too embarrassed to keep eye contact.

Minghao was slowly beginning to see the dynamic of those three. Whereas Seungcheol seemed to cool down the mood with his presence, Jeonghan spiced it up. And the one between Jeonghan's snarky comments and Seungcheol's messy aloofness, the one that made it all work, was Jisoo.

The prince smiled behind his cup of tea. Now that he was thinking it properly Mingyu and Wonwoo were also a balanced couple. Mingyu was the child of these two; with his big smiles and curious nature. His character was easy to deal with and he was really outgoing. He also whined a lot. Wonwoo on the other was more serious and shy. He liked to stay closed to himself within the boundaries that made him comfortable.

When the two were together though their characters mixed up, bringing a lovely combination out. Minghao sighed. He couldn't help but wonder if he would ever find someone to balance him so good like the others. To be the silliness at his staidness, the clumsiness at his watchfulness, the kindness and sweetness at his sarcasm and his irony.

"We could stay, I guess." Minghao addressed his friends. "Do you all feel safe here?" he asked.

"Well we will be safer than out there..." Junhui said.

"Yes I think we will be fine." Mingyu voiced and Wonwoo nodded along.

"Let's make a deal." Seungcheol sat at their table and crossed his hands.

He looked more serious now, gathering the attention of everyone at the table. Minghao sat straighter again, ready to be the voice of their team.

"If anyone comes searching for you, we won't betray you. But in exchange you must not mention our meeting if they catch you. We need to protect Jisoo's job." the inn owner said.

"Deal." the prince said and took his hand out, inviting Seungcheol in a handshake.

Minghao didn't question how the other knew that they were on the run. It seemed that they had been too obvious to the trio, both about Mingyu and Wonwoo's relationship and their whereabouts. He hoped that this transparency was only a onetime thing. It would be hard to deal with more Jeonghans in the future.

"Perfect." Seungcheol said and shook Minghao's hand. "Feel free to stay as many days as you want. My home it's yours." he said again flashing a gummy smile.

“We are still paying you though. We are guests after all.” Mingyu spoke.

Seungcheol patted his back. “What a nice man.” he commented.

"I know right." Wonwoo mumbled absent-mindly.

That broke completely the ice between them as everyone burst out laughing at Wonwoo's comment. Mingyu scooted closer to Wonwoo with his chair and wrapped his hands around him. The knight buried his red cheeks in Mingyu's arms.

"It's time to start preparing for the day." Jeonghan said and got up. "Jisoo you're helping me today, I accept no objections." he said and pulled Jisoo's sleeve to get up as well.

“What about us? Should we help with something?” Mingyu asked.

"Of course not, we would never want to trouble-" Jisoo begun saying.

"Wonwoo can come with us." Jeonghan interrupted him, his eyes glinting.

“Jeonghan!”

Wonwoo looked sheepishly around. "Well I-"he tried to say but Jeonghan cut him.

"I insist." he smiled and made a gesture to show the way for Wonwoo.

The knight glanced around until his gaze landed on Minghao, pleading him for help. The prince caught his eye and rose from his sit. Clearly the knight didn’t want to stay alone with Jeonghan.

"Can I join too?" he asked politely.

"Are you certain?" Jisoo questioned quickly, helping Minghao up.

The prince stood up. "Yes, don’t worry. Come on Wonwoo let's go." he said as he walked towards the way Jeonghan was show.

Wonwoo nodded and stood us well after receiving a brief kiss from Mingyu. The four walked towards the door that Jeonghan had vanished yesterday after the incident. It turned out that the room was a storage room.

"Your highness, you really don't need to do any work." Jisoo said politely.

"Wonwoo you can lift these boxes while Minghao dusts the ground below them." Jeonghan said at the same time, making Jisoo facepalm.

"You really have to stop addressing me like that, Doctor Hong. Besides I'm already experienced with cleaning." the prince smirked and went to retrieve the broom that Jeonghan was holding out.

"You are?" Wonwoo asked curiously.

"Yes. Who do you think that took care of Mingyu's duties at your first date, hm?" Minghao asked sarcastically.

Wonwoo's mouth dropped. "That was you? Mingyu told me it was Chan." he said surprised.

"It was Chan _and me_." the prince laughed at Wonwoo's face. "He obviously couldn't clean a whole floor all by himself."

"My God, I can't believe that idiot made the prince of Gisa clean his own palace just to see me." Wonwoo said incredulously, his cheeks starting to redden.

Minghao laughed even louder at that. "I don't regret it. So don't worry yourself about these things. Look where you are now. You and Mingyu are together and better than ever. I would have done it again if it meant that we would be how we are now." Minghao flashed a kind smile.

"Lifting boxes and sweeping the floor?" Wonwoo joked with a smile of his own.

"Lifting boxes and sweeping the floor, _together_. And free." Minghao clarified.

"Sappy." Wonwoo scrunched his nose but patted Minghao on the shoulder thankfully.

"Really sappy." Jeonghan agreed from the side.

"Joke all you want. But that's the truth." Minghao blushed and started sweeping the floor.

"Still though, we shouldn't let you do any work. You are our guests." Jisoo insisted until Jeonghan shoved a rug in his hands.

"We're doing the top boxes dear. Not time to chat." he said lightly.

The doctor sighed, frustrated that no one was listening, but started wiping away the dust anyway.

The four of them got to work dusting and sweeping as Wonwoo moved the boxes around the storage room. A couple of hours later, and after various small conversations Minghao and Wonwoo had finally relaxed around the other two. Their company was good and the small bickerings they had from time to time, were really amusing.

"So Wonwoo. How long do you know Mingyu?" Jeonghan asked at some point, as he cleaned up a particularly big box.

"Not that long actually. A couple of months." the knight replied.

"That's a lie Wonwoo. You know him almost seven months." Minghao butted in the conversation.

"Ah, seven months. Too late to escape the love and too early to get married." Jeonghan said with a sigh.

Wonwoo choked out loud, almost dropping a box on his feet.

"Jeonghan!" Jisoo shrieked again.

"Come on. You look like the type to have discussed it." Jeonghan urged Wonwoo to elaborate.

"Well..." Wonwoo started.

Minghao sent him a questioning look. That was a piece of information the he didn’t know.

"We haven't discussed it. But Mingyu did said he would want to marry me someday when we were in the prison together." the knight explained.

"Now that I think about it, he asked me twice." he trailed. "The second time was when we-" but then he cut himself, closing his mouth immediately.

"Well, three time's the charm I’ve heard." Jisoo smiled at him.

Jeonghan though wasn't the type to simply let the subject drop.

"When you...?" he urged the knight to continue. "What were you doing to him that was so good he asked to marry you?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

Wonwoo blushed hard at the older's statement. He started fiddling with his fingers. Minghao arched an eyebrow, suddenly more interested in the conversation.

"Nothing." he voiced as looked at the floor.

"You're a shy one, aren't you?" Jeonghan cooed at him. "Don't worry, it's okay, there is nothing to be ashamed of."

This was the kindest Minghao had heard the long haired being.

Wonwoo looked at Jeonghan and the at Jisoo. It seemed that an inner battle was happening in his head whether it was safe to tell the other two or not. After a moment or two though, he sighed and nodded.

"He asked me after we had... um sex." the knight mumbled.

Minghao's grip on his broom tightened. Mingyu and Wonwoo hadn't explicitly talked about that aspect of their relationship. It was something the prince have been wondering about ever since he had seen them be more intimate that night at the springs. Maybe he could learn more about them now.

"How scandalous!" Jeonghan said dramatically. "Have you two gone all the way yet?"

Wonwoo nodded shyly and Jeonghan clapped excited.

"How was it?" he asked sweetly with glee in his eyes.

"Uhh, nice, I guess?" Wonwoo replied.

All the way huh? It must have happened at the springs, Minghao recalled. Junhui had explained some stuff then, but not in great detail. Minghao could remembered how happy they both looked after their night together. Was everyone feeling that happy after their first time?

"Tell us details." Jeonghan said only to be hit by a rug on his face.

"Let the boy breathe." Jisoo tried to bring the conversation back to something lighter.

"Fine. Let _me_ go into detail then." Jeonghan begun. "I have experience in both the receiving and giving sides."

Minghao's eyes widen at that. Just how exactly three people did such things. Honestly, he was curious from the start, but he would never admit that. He saw Wonwoo nodding at Jeonghan's words.

"Honestly, they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Have you tried both?" the long haired continued asking Wonwoo.

Jisoo let out a long, disappointed sigh. “Why are you like this?” he mumbled.

"No... I'm more at the... Well receiving side." Wonwoo coughed awkwardly.

"Just like Jisoo here." Jeonghan chuckled before a rug hit him again.

"My God! Can you please shut up?" the doctor said.

Minghao was sure the Jisoo was going to burst. He was that red from the embarrassment.

So not only Doctor Hong partook in sexual activities with two other men, he also seemed to be on the submissive side. Minghao would have never guessed. It was surreal to find out that a person you superficially knew your entire life had a completely different side to them. Doctor Hong seemed more human now and less like an all-knowing healer.

"You've been telling me to shut up all day baby." Jeonghan pouted. "Wonwoo here must have questions. Don't you want to help him?"

Was that the reason Jeonghan wanted Wonwoo to join him at the storage room? It was surprisingly more thoughtful than Minghao would have guessed.

"Does he really? Wonwoo do you really have questions?" Jisoo asked concerned.

It was obvious that he didn't want to make the knight feel uncomfortable thus the constant attempts to stop Jeonghan from talking.

"Uhh not really... I mean... It's good. Mingyu is always very careful with me." Wonwoo said, slowly picking his words.

"He is now. That lovely to hear. It's really important that the other is gentle and careful especially the first time." Jeonghan pointed out and Minghao finds himself more and more focused in the conversation for some reason.

“It is. I can’t imagine someone else except Mingyu for me, to be honest…”

Wonwoo was opening up little by little and that was something that surprised Minghao greatly. Just how easy was for Jeonghan to make a clamp-like Wonwoo give out such information? Clearly he had a way with words.

"Well, if we actually going to talk about it..." Jisoo resigned himself. "Jeonghan and I were each other's first time. I'm sure you understand from the briefly you've talked to him how... indulgent he can get. We had to talk a lot to set boundaries, communicate what we expected from the other."

That sounded awfully familiar to Minghao.

"Then Seungcheol came along and the combination changed a little." Jeonghan smirked. "Honestly it was perfect. It was my first time at the receiving end and Cheolie was so good at this. He knew exactly what to do to send me over the edge." he sighed as he recalled that night.

"Cheolie always seems to know what to do with us." Jisoo agreed with a fade smirk.

Minghao saw Wonwoo smiling and nodding as he understood what the other two meant. The prince didn't though, and that frustrated him. Was this thing so good that made all three of them filled with happiness and excitement? Now he was beyond curious and there was no reason to deny it anymore. He wanted this experience everyone was describing. But he was too scared to actually voice it out loud.

"It's refreshing to talk to someone about stuff like that." Wonwoo said, keeping his small smile on his lips. "Makes it feel more... normal."

"Oh but dear, it is normal." Jeonghan patted his back gently. "That's what I wanted to make you feel. You are not alone Wonwoo. You have never been.”

"Well you succeeded then. Thank you, both of you." Wonwoo said with a small voice and Jeonghan beamed.

"See baby? I did help." he said proudly to Jisoo who just sighed but smiled non the less.

"Of course you did." he said. "You always do in the end, and that's why I love you." the doctor admitted.

"Aw you're so cute. Come here." Jeonghan cooed and enveloped Jisoo in a hug pecking his lips afterwards.

Wonwoo looked at Minghao. He had a happy, knowing look on his face. That was what acceptance looked like. Minghao hadn't thought about how weird it must have been for his two friends to feel like people constantly disapproved of their choices. No matter how much he and Junhui supported them, it clearly wasn't enough.

Perhaps Jeonghan's attitude helped a little after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it guys!!!! Jihancheol entered the story finally!!!
> 
> Uh, I love good old teasing Jeonghan. He is something else. And Jisoo and Cheol, the 95's are really wholsome!
> 
> So I hoped you liked this chapter as well, and as always... waiting for your incredible comments down below!
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healthy!
> 
> -SkWh


	22. A delicate rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooo peopleeeee!!!
> 
> This is a SPECIAL SATURDAY, i'll tell you that!!!!
> 
> But I'll leave you only with a warning for a SMUT and a big sorry for the delay!!!
> 
> Without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

The day passed pretty quick for the four friends. It wasn't until noon that Wonwoo and Minghao had finished with the storage renovation. The conversations that were made between the knight and the older two had seemingly enlighten his heart. So much that when they finally finished and returned to the rest of the company Wonwoo dragged Mingyu in passionate kiss that made both Mingyu and Junhui yelp in surprise.

On the other hand, Minghao’s curiosity had flared up even more, making him more determined to learn _why_ the thing that they were talking about had so much influence on Wonwoo's happiness.

When the pub started filling up again later that evening, Minghao and Wonwoo retreated to their rooms. The knight seemed in no mood to drink between loud music and large drunk men for a second night in a row.

Junhui forced Mingyu stay back though. Both him and Wonwoo still had issues with being separated from each other for too long, especially the footman. They had to face them before it damaged their relationship for good. Minghao believe that it was a wise decision the knight had made. So they split up, and Junhui stayed with Mingyu in the pub to have another round of wild fun.

"Ah finally some alone time." Minghao sighed as he entered Wonwoo's room. He laid face flat on one of the beds, making sure it wasn't used the night before.

"I'm still here." Wonwoo snickered.

He then hurried to fix up the covers on the other bed, trying to subtly hide something that was left on the mattress.

But Minghao followed his movement with the corner of his eye. Wonwoo took a small vial in his hand and quickly shuffled towards the nightstand, placing it in its drawer. Minghao’s eyes glinted for a moment. _‘So that was the aromatic oil that Junhui spoke about’_ he thought.

The prince pretended he saw nothing, stuffing his face again in the pillow instead.

"You don't count." he said, voice muffled.

"I'm hurt. Is my presence of such insignificance to you?" Wonwoo replied, sitting on his own bed.

"I meant it in the good way." Minghao laughed under his breath, turning his head to face the knight. "You don't count because you're not annoying and loud, like the other two." he explained.

"Well, I can be loud too you know" Wonwoo wiggled his eyebrows and begun laughing.

Minghao shot his head up, looking at him in shock. "Oh my God what did those two do to you? Suddenly so dirty minded." he accused, clearly referring to Jeonghan, Jisoo and the talk they had previously in the storage room.

Wonwoo laughed loudly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." he waved his hands in front of him. "Maybe Jeonghan is starting to rub off on me."

"Well you should take a bath then. You know to rub it _off_." the prince pointed out.

"Rub it off at the shower, huh?" Wonwoo smirked at the prince's dismayed look.

Minghao tsked. "You, have problems. Serious problems." he deadpanned with an unamused look on his face.

"You could say that my problems would be... _hard_ to solve." Wonwoo made finger guns.

"Wonwoo, go and get a bath please. With cold water preferable, so that your brain can start working again." Minghao said, pointing at the door that lead to the bathroom.

"Alright." Wonwoo laughed again and got up. "I'll get it working alright." He mumbled before throwing a wink towards the prince.

"You know what? I take it back, Wonwoo your annoying too." Minghao exclaimed as the knight closed the bathroom's door behind him.

The other’s laugh only became louder. "And I better not hear anything happening in there!" Minghao shouted as an afterthought.

"Don't worry, my fingers won't reach _in there_!" Wonwoo joked again and Minghao groaned like it physically pained him.

After a couple of minutes filled with silence, Minghao heard the first splash of water. He sighed in relief that indeed Wonwoo started taking a bath and not doing something else. The prince shivered only at the thought. He wouldn't like to experience Wonwoo's sounds, never. A naked Mingyu was enough to make his imagination ran wild, he didn't need any audio going along with it.

Minghao turned on his back, his eyes gazing at the ceiling. Admittedly, he had a problem. It's been on his mind for a lot of days already, but it seemed to peek this morning. He wanted to know how _it_ all felt and there was no denying it anymore. As random as all his other thoughts ran about this subject, an idea popped up in his head. Oil would be necessary for experimenting. What did _'experimenting_ ' included, he had no idea, just that if he decided to do anything, he would need some of that aromatic oil.

Buy some was by any means impossible. He had to get out, _on his own_ , look around the village for the market, and then search the stores one by one to find it. He couldn't ask for help. Neither from the three owners nor from his friends. Especially from his friends. They would start asking questions to which Minghao hadn't answers. The prince mentally groaned and turned to look at the nightstand. His only chance to heal his curiosity without getting in trouble was to take the bottle that Wonwoo has hid in there.

He looked towards the door of the bathroom, deciding if it was worth the humiliation he would experience if Wonwoo caught him. He also thought about how it would make his friends' sexual life before they bought a new one. But now that the idea had planted itself in Minghao's brain, there was no way he could stop it from growing. He got up from the bed, grimacing at the creaky noise it made.

Slowly he stepped towards the nightstand and placed his hand on the knob dragging the drawer open. At the bottom was located the small vial. Minghao smirked and slipped his hand inside it.

Just then, the water from the bathroom seemed to stop splashing. Minghao froze, quickly contemplating his next move. He grabbed the small bottle and pulled it inside his sleeve. He heard footsteps approaching. He had no time to return to his seat and pretend nothing had happened. When he heard the doorknob turning, he grabbed the lantern that was on top of the drawer and threw it to the ground, effectively breaking it.

"Shoot!" he exclaimed loudly.

"What happened?" the knight asked emerging from the bathroom.

"I have no idea. This thing suddenly fell off." Minghao said, with a deep frown, not that the other could see him in the darkness.

He purposely hit the furniture then, letting out a fake pained groan to cover the sound of pushing the drawer shut. "Don't step out too much, you might step on glass." he warned.

"How did this even happen?" Wonwoo asked. His feet echoed on the floor as got closer to Minghao.

"I have no idea. It just... tumbled over." the prince continued, blindly searching around with his hands to find the other.

When his fingers brushed against Wonwoo’s skin he stopped, placing an open palm on the knight’s bare shoulder. "Seriously, don't come closer with your bare feet.” he said, halting the other. “Can you get dressed and bring another lantern in here?" Minghao said.

"Alright, alright. Don't work yourself like that. It's just a lantern." Wonwoo chuckled lightly at Minghao's overprotective attitude.

He then shuffled slowly towards his back to take some clean clothes and walked again towards the bathroom. Likely there was still a cup with a candle in there.

"I'll be ready in a minute. Let's go down together." he suggested.

Wonwoo's voice changed. Minghao knew that tone. Even if he couldn't clearly see him, he was sure that the other's fingers were fidgeting. "Just the two of us, yes?" he asked pointedly.

Wonwoo sighed. "Just the two of us." he confirmed.

Minghao approached him carefully, once again. "Go get dressed." he said and patted him in the back encouragingly.

"Alright." Wonwoo answered, going inside the bathroom again.

As soon as the door was closed behind Wonwoo’s back, Minghao heaved a sigh of relief. His eyes then fell on the vial in his palm. It was finally time to cure his curiosity.

~*~

Downstairs, the music and the people were as loud as the previous day. But once again, despite Mingyu's usual and outgoing personality, he didn't join them. He was seated with Junhui at the bar, getting drink after drink in a false attempt to subside his fidgeting.

Suddenly he caught movement on the stairs with the corner of his eye. He turned quickly to look and his lips spread in a wide grin. Wonwoo and Minghao were climbing down the wooden staircase making small talk. Without losing a second, Mingyu placed his feet on the floor and stood up, only to be dragged back down from Junhui.

"Mingyu. What did we say? Tonight, we have time just the two of us. So sit down." the knight commanded.

"You know that I'm not an actual dog, right hyung?" Mingyu arched him an eyebrow.

"Then don't act like you just saw your owner." Junhui scolded him.

Mingyu's face fell, any semblance of a good mood lost. He just couldn't do this without Wonwoo. Everything worked so much better when they were together. The more he stayed away from his lover, the less he saw the point in trying to have fun.

"Come on, he is as safe and happy as it gets. Why can't _you_ be?" Junhui tried to make him speak.

"Hyung you know how difficult it is for me to not be around Wonwoo. Especially after the prison. "I love him. Mingyu sighed deeply. “I want to protect him and be there for him... Is it that bad?" the he asked.

“Mingyu, being there when he needs you and being a leech, are two totally different things.” Junhui sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I hear cute love confessions!" Seungcheol passed by them grinning widely, holding two cups of wine for some other customers.

When neither Mingyu nor Junhui replied to him, the owner turned his head to actually look at them. Mingyu imagined they didn't look very comfortable. His face was not one of a person’s who just healthily confessed his love.

"Hey... what's wrong. Why you look so sad?" Seungcheol asked frowning at the two friends.

Junhui begun sipping his drink, clearly opting out of the conversation. Mingyu sighed again and looked at the direction he had seen his lover before. Just a glimpse of him might have been enough to give him strength, but he was no longer there.

"I, uh. I'm not with Wonwoo." Mingyu said to Seungcheol in the end, like it would explain everything.

"And you're not having fun because he is not with you?” Seungcheol asked.

Mingyu simply nodded.

“But he isn't far away or in any kind of danger, so why are you feeling like that?" the owner stated, placing his forearms on the counter as he made eye contact with the footman.

"Seungcheol!" they heard Jeonghan shouting, as he ran around to serve both his customers and the his boyfriend’s.

"It's okay, I've got you." Jisoo popped out from the storage room and approached the counter, taking some cups off his hand.

"He's got me!" Seungcheol shrugged sheepishly at the Jeonghan’s glare before directing his attention back to Mingyu.

"How do you do that?" Mingyu asked when Seungcheol looked at him again.

"How do I do what?" the other arched an eyebrow.

"If I were you right now, I would have run towards Wonwoo just by hearing him scream. Not only you didn't go, but you seem perfectly calm." the footman said dumbfounded.

"Well, for once, Hannie yells at me all the time." Seungcheol chuckled, scratching his head. "But for the most part, I can tell when there is something really wrong with him. If that was the case, I'd be next to him in a heartbeat."

"But..."

"Mingyu look... being away from your other half doesn't mean you don't love them or that you won't be there if they need you. The experiences you have with Wonwoo are traumatizing and hard to resolve but it's not impossible. Staying away isn't bad. It gives you and him time for yourselves. Taking a breath from each other's presence helps you to keep your own character.On the other hand, when you exaggerate and spend every last second of the day together, unconsciously makes you do whatever he wants or the opposite. You don't express yourselves properly and you're creating distances between you and your friends.” Seungcheol explained. “Let me ask you, how much time has it passed since you had some alone time with Minghao? Or Wonwoo with Junhui?" he asked.

"Quite a lot." Junhui piped in, choosing that moment to reenter the conversation. "Don't worry though, Minghao and I are managing."

"Hyung." Mingyu looked at Seungcheol. "Do you think that this hurts him too?"

"Be away from you, or not having time for himself?" the inn owner asked.

"Both." Mingyu put his chin in his palms, realizing that there was no way a positive answer was coming out of this.

One way or another, Wonwoo _was_ hurting, and it was all his fault this time.

"Ah-ah I know that face. He is blaming himself for the whole situation." Junhui stated, pointing a finger in front of Mingyu’s face.

"But-" Mingyu tried to say with wide eyes.

"Aw Mingyu." Seungcheol cooed, placing a hand on his back. "You're a big softie, aren't you?"

Mingyu tried to speak, to find some short of excuse but he couldn’t. Because it was true. Mingyu was many things for Wonwoo, including a big softie. So he merely nodded with a pout on his lips.

"Don't be like that pup. It's okay to make mistakes. Right Seungcheol-sii?" Junhui patted him on the thigh lightly.

"Of course it is." Seungcheol agreed. "Don't be too hard on yourself. If you really want to see Wonwoo, he is upstairs huddled in his room with your friend and a broken lantern. But something tells me that _you_ , as Mingyu, would rather be in here, singing and dancing, instead of spending a quiet night.” Seungcheol smirked. “So, which will it be then?"

Mingyu looked at Junhui who smiled at him encouragingly. Maybe his friends were right after all. Maybe he should give himself and his lover some time and some space, to do things that each one want. The footman exhaled and smirked.

"I'm not gonna ask how you know that... but you're surely are right."

"Your boyfriend spent the day with Jeonghan and Jisoo. I know more about you than I would have liked." Seungcheol ruffled his hair and reached behind him to fill two glasses with wine. "Here, on the house. I'll check on you in a few, okay?" he said and went back at helping the other two.

As sweet as Jisoo had been to offer help, his low speed and stubbornness for precision did not make for a good server. Seungcheol had to pick the complaining up and place him away from the counter.

As he returned back to his work, he ran a hand through Jeonghan's hair to lighten the mood again. The long haired couldn't help the lovesick look he sent his way. As Mingyu watched them, he really hoped that Wonwoo and he could get to the level where they solve their problems so fast.

"You're good there, pup?" Junhui snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah." Mingyu turned his body towards the dance circle that had formed again behind him.

It looked like fun. It reminded him of that fateful New Year's celebration at the knights' building. Wonwoo had looked so beautiful. Back then, Mingyu wasn't together with him all the time. He remembered how glad he was every time be saw him, how much he anticipated their meetings. At the old hospital they talked about their days, their experiences and Mingyu was always fascinated to hear about Wonwoo's thoughts. They didn't do that anymore. They experienced everything together.

Mingyu loved both of those times. Truthfully, he love everything he did with his knight. But maybe it would be healthier to bring the first experience back in a degree. He kind of missed having Wonwoo talking about the things he liked, that glint in his eyes and the natural curve of his lips as he talked about the things he loved.

"I should get Wonwoo a book or something." he voiced in the end.

"That's a really good idea you have there my friend." Junhui grinned at him and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "I think he will appreciate it very much since he left all his books back at the palace."

Mingyu nodded. Tomorrow he would do that, first thing in the morning. There were some things from their previous lifestyle that should be preserved. Things that they did individually, not together. They were the reason that they fell for each other after all.

And that applied to Mingyu as well. If there was one thing he loved back in the castle, were the celebrations. How could he let himself sit quietly all this time while there was so much happening in the tavern?

He drank the wine Seungcheol had given them in one go, grabbed Junhui's hand and stood up.

"Do you know how to dance hyung?" he asked.

Junhui smirked at the footman. "I'm the best dancer you would find around here young man.” the knight said and stood up not forgetting to down his drink first. “Let's go!"

~*~  
  


Minghao placed his hand on his mouth, covering a third yawn that sent shivers all over his body.

"You can sleep if you want. It's getting kind of late." Wonwoo said for what felt the hundredth time.

Minghao and he were still in the knight’s room, floor clean and lantern replaced. Wonwoo had surrounded himself with blankets on his bed. His eyes were heavy, but he didn't want to sleep without Mingyu returning. Minghao decided to stay awake with him to keep him company.

But indeed, it was getting kind of late. Part of him was glad that Mingyu lasted that long. Part of him was getting tired fast and was missing his own bed. Part of him also really liked spending time like this with Wonwoo in the fluffy nest he had made. That would be the time when back at the castle he would probably be reading a book.

A loud knock on the room's door brought Minghao back on earth. It was followed by yells and laughs and the prince arched a questioning eyebrow.

"Junnie~~ where are you taking me~~ I wanna dance more~~" Mingyu's voice was heard from outside and Minghao's eyes widened.

He instantly made eye contact with the knight who seemed less sleepy right now.

"Come on pup. No more dancing for today." Junhui's voice echoed right after, and Wonwoo was immediately on his feet, walking towards the door.

He opened the door widely and Minghao turned his head just in time to see his best friend breaking out into a huge smile. The footman let go of Junhui, and made a couple of wobbly steps forward, only to drop in the other knight's arms.

"Hi." he said and fluttered his eyelashes cutely.

"You still want to dance more?" Junhui asked with a smirk, leaning against the doorframe.

"What the hell is going on?" Wonwoo frowned at Mingyu.

"Nothing much. We just had fun. Now I'm returning him to you so you can also have fun." Junhui said shuffling inside the room.

"Wonu~~~ did you know that Junnie is the best dancer around here~~?" Mingyu giggled.

Wonwoo smiled softly at him. “No love, I didn’t.”

Minghao snorted from his bed.

"What was that?" Junhui asked him with raised eyebrows.

Minghao just took his tongue out to the other.

"Haohao~~ let's dance together next time~~" Mingyu whined happily and the prince glared at the Chinese.

"Did _you_ told him to say that?" he asked.

"Perhaps." Junhui said and turned back to the couple. "Mingyu danced a lot. He must be pretty tired." he patted the footman's hair.

"Mm tired~~" Mingyu murmured, nuzzling further in Wonwoo's hug. 

Junhui cooed. "Aren't you cute, pup?" he said sweetly and pinched his cheek.

"Here, take him to bed." Wonwoo shifted Hid boyfriend’s weight, dropping him in Junhui’s hold.

The Chinese groaned at the sudden weight, falling on him clumsily. "Arm around my shoulders pup." he softly instructed Mingyu.

Minghao observed as Junhui passed beside him and walked towards the bed. The knight made Mingyu sit on the mattress and started unbuckling his boots. Something tugged inside Minghao seeing the other taking care of his friend like that. It felt warm and tingling.

An idea passed through the prince’s mind, like a bolt of lightning. It was so sudden and fast that Minghao didn’t quite manage to grasp it. Then Junhui exclaimed loudly, making him avert his focus totally from his thought.

"No give me that and off to sleep." he said and took the wooden cup from Mingyu's hand, shoved on the prince's instead.

Minghao wondered how he did not see the cup earlier. He looked down at the deep red liquor that swirled inside the cup and frowned.

“Bu- but I wanna, wanna…” Mingyu began to protest.

But when Wonwoo sat at the top of the bed next to his head, the footman wrapped his arms around the knight's waist and let out a content sigh, forgetting his protest altogether.

"Did you have fun?" Wonwoo ran his fingers through the brown locks, while Junhui went to fetch a cup of water.

"Much...But I'm still sorry~~" Mingyu whined.

“Why are you sorry?" Wonwoo frowned.

"Because..." A long pause. "Are you good Wonwoo?" Mingyu asked with a big frown.

"Yes, now that you're here." the knight grabbed the other’s hands that were around him.

It was then that Junhui returned back, placing a gentle palm on Mingyu’s shoulder.

"Hey now, that's a conversation for when you're sobber and well rested." he spoke softly and crouched down in front of them, handing the water to Mingyu.

Mingyu looked back at him with watery eyes and Junhui chuckled.

"Easy pup. Everything is fine." the Chinese said and brushed away some hair that has fallen in Mingyu's eyes. He then turned to his friend, who seemed beyond lost.

"Wonwoo, I think you should rest. Both of you. He will explain you in the morning." he said.

Wonwoo sighed and nodded, mouthing a silent thank you to the Chinese.

Junhui waved him off with a smile. He then turned to the prince. "Shall we go your highness?" he said and bowed.

Minghao looked at him for a moment and it clicked. Junhui was a great friend. He was caring and gentle and kept them safe. He was patient and he had put in as much effort as Minghao had in order to communicate with each other.

By now, they were able to talk their way through anything, no matter how bizarre or unconventional it was. Because their communication didn't come natural and they had to talk and come to a conclusion about how they should treat each other, they expected nothing of one another like normal friends usually did. Such a person...

It was exactly what he needed, wasn't it?

"Haooo give me back my drink!" Mingyu whined when the prince got up to leave.

"Ah-ah-ah~ didn't you hear what hyung said? Time for sleep Mingyu." Minghao smiled at his friend putting the cup on his lips, drinking the liquor in one go.

 _Besides I'm gonna need it more than you, with what I'm about to do,_ he thought.

"Hyung?" Junhui smiled, surprised.

Minghao turned and looked at him with a small grin. He then walked towards the door, halting in front of it. "Are you coming?" he gestured at Junhui.

Junhui's eyes were glued on the prince’s face, unfocused and his smile disbelieving as he trailed behind him.

"Goodnight." Minghao waved, mostly at Wonwoo, because Mingyu seemed too busy nuzzling his face in the knight's lap to pay attention.

"Night~~" Junhui echoed behind him and closed the door lightly.

They trailed a few steps forward, stopping on front of their own room. Minghao fetched the key from his pocket, unlocking the door and shuffling in, with Junhui walking behind him.

The prince sighed as he leaned against a small wooden table so he could take off his shoes. As soon as his boots were slipped off his feet, Minghao felt two hands snacking their way around his waist, bringing him close to a warm chest. A hot breath ghosted near his ear.

“Junhui?” Minghao wondered out loud.

"I didn't want to show it in front of the others, but since we're honest with each other I'm a bit tipsy as well." Junhui whispered, leaning his forehead on top of the prince’s shoulder.

Minghao's heart did something then. It was like a small flip, something that he wouldn’t normally mind. He suddenly felt more shy for what he was about to propose. At the same time though, Junhui's actions only enhanced his belief that he would be the right person more.

Still, despite the chaos happening inside him, he didn't feel nervous. It was impossible to feel anything other than safe and warm when Junhui held him like this.

"Are you okay?" Minghao asked, leaning a bit into him.

"I'm fine. But a fair warning, I tend to be more clingy when there's alcohol in my system. Just in case you want shove me away." he chuckled, leaning his chin on Minghao's shoulder.

Minghao chuckled. "It’s alright. Besides I need you as close as you can get now." he said, grabbing Junhui's hand and leading both of them to sit on the bed.

Junhui tilted his head clearly confused, and Minghao swore that he felt his heart doing an actual jump this time.

"What's wrong? Did something bad happened?" the knight asked.

Minghao felt smiled fondly. Even tipsy, Junhui cared more about the prince’s wellbeing rather his own. Yes Wen Junhui was the most fitted person, alright.

"No..." the prince said, kneeling down to help the other get his shoes off. "I uh... I broke a lantern today." he decided to start more generally.

"We've been told. It was the reason you came down earlier." Junhui smiled down at him. "Hao you're getting clumsier and clumsier every day." he stated, ruffling his hair with a giggle.

"No, it’s not that. I broke it on purpose." Minghao said and looked up at the other with a mischievous smile. "Do you want to know why?"

Junhui arched his eyebrow. "Do I?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Minghao got up and searched his pants' pocket. After some fumbling he pulled the small vial of aromatic oil and held it close to Junhui’s face.

The knight squinted, looking closely at the small bottle inspecting it carefully. It took him a little more time to since he wasn’t completely sober, but after a while it clicked to him.

"Wait a minute. This is the oil I bought for Mingyu back at the springs." Junhui said and Minghao nodded with smirk. "Where did you get that?" the Chinese frowned.

"I got it from their room..." the prince said with a shrug. He then took a deep breath and sat next to Junhui.

“Uh- Something is bothering you.” Junhui stated.

“Wha-?”

“You have that look on your face.”

“What look?” Minghao asked confused.

“Your ‘ _I have something spinning in my mind, non-stop’_ look.” the knight explained.

“Such look can’t possibly exist.” Minghao chuckled. “But you’re right, there is something that is _spinning_ in my mind lately.” he admitted.

“What is it? You know you can tell me anything right?” Junhui said.

Minghao exhaled through his nose. “Look Junhui, there’s something that keeps bothering me ever since we left the springs. Something that you told me.”

“I’ve said many things that bother you Haohao, so can you be a little more specific?” Junhui rolled his eyes playfully.

"I want to try _it_." Minghao stated quietly, clenching his fists around the sheets.

It was surprisingly hard to utter those words. His nerves peeked as he waited for Junhui to understand what he meant and react.

"It?" the knight tilted his head after a moment of silence. "You mean the thing that needs this oil?" he asked with disbelief.

"Yes." Minghao nodded. "Do you um… Do think it's weird?" he asked, not looking at the other.

"Well it's… um surprising." Junhui scratched the back of his neck. "But weird, no. I do wonder of course how it came into your mind."

"It... had been in my mind for a while. Ever since you explained me what happened to Wonwoo at the springs, to be more specific." Minghao admitted.

“Oh, that thing that I told you.” Junhui said with a chuckle.

“And the conversation Wonwoo made with Jeonghan and Jisoo, intensified it.” the prince continued.

"Well, thank you for trusting me with this." Junhui brought his smile back and leaned his head on the prince's shoulder.

"Wait, there is something more." Minghao whispered, unconsciously raising a hand to run it through the other's hair so he could ease some of his own tension.

"Again, you can tell me anything that troubles you. So go ahead." Junhui reassured him.

"Okay... I'm only mentioning this because we have that kind of relationship... We haven't done anything the traditional way, so one more weird thing wouldn't be so out of place to ask." he said and nudged the other to lift his head and look at him. "I need someone I can experiment with. And I... I want that someone to be you." he said, willing his voice not to tremble.

Junhui's eyebrows reached all the way to his hairline, his jaw falling open. "Now hold on just a minute. You want to do _it_ with _me_?" he said pointing at himself. "Why?"

Minghao groaned embarrassed and rolled away, burying his face at the end of the bed.

"It's okay if you don't want to. We can forget this conversation ever happened." he said with a muffled voice.

"I didn't say anything. I just asked why. Minghao this is serious, it's your first time. Shouldn't you do that with someone you _actually_ like?" Junhui said and placed his hand on the others shoulder.

"No, I thought about this, you know?” Minghao stood up. “Hear me out. I just want the _experience_. No feelings attached, no bonds made.” he explained. “I simply want to cure my stupid curiosity and make this thought that bugs me, go away.”

Junhui hummed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He seemed like he was thinking about it. His brows were drawn together and he was chewing his lower lip.

"You know what. Maybe it was a good idea after all. We should-."

"Alright, I'll do it. I'll help you." Junhui cut him.

Minghao side glanced him. "That was easy." he commented.

"Did you wanted it to be hard?" the older answered back.

"I mean..." Minghao smiled with tight lips, cursing Wonwoo for his stupid jokes. This was not an appropriate time.

Junhui snickered and took Minghao’s hands in his own, dragging both of them further up the bed. It was like every other night, both of them laying side by side basking in each other’s warmth. For once though, the prince was too aware of their proximity for his liking. When Junhui laid a hand on his waist, he turned his back on him again. He needed to calm down. Surely, it was not the first time Junhui hugged him, there was nothing unusual happening here.

But when he felt a pair of warm lips suddenly caressing the back of his neck, he jerked away, falling off the edge bed with a small yelp.

"Wait, I didn't mean today!" he squeaked.

"Honestly, I don't think we have another day. I'm sure Wonwoo and Mingyu will start looking for that when Mingyu is sober again." Junhui reasoned, pointing at the bottle of oil.

Minghao huffed and looked up at Junhui. He was laying on his side, head perched on his palm, smirking down at him. Unwillingly, Minghao's eye traveled down his body, the dip of his waist, his long legs. Junhui wasn't hard on the eyes. It was a fact that had never flustered Minghao as much as now.

And suddenly, he all too aware about how messy he must be looking sprawled on the floor. He sat a little straighter and crossed his legs beneath him.

"Yes, that’s right.” Minghao coughed awkwardly. “Are you okay though? You said you were tipsy." he pointed out.

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm getting my senses back as the time passes." Junhui smiled at him waving his hand in front of his face.

"How reassuring." Minghao grimaced.

Junhui sat up then, his legs dangling out of the bed. He extended his hand for Minghao to grab and get up. The prince sighed and took it, standing up slowly. He then walked forward and sat beside the knight again. Junhui looked at him and winked. He then smiled and laid down again.

"Come here, you mess of a prince." the knight opened his arms invitingly.

Minghao did, without a second thought. Hugging was nice. He crawled on top of the other and plopped between his open arms. He felt Junhui’s arms circling around his thin frame. Junhui's hugs were always calming to him. Though he would never that say it out loud.

Junhui started drawing small patterns between the prince's shoulder-blades, trying to make the tension in his body go away.

"Don't worry, I know you." Junhui hummed softly. "I know I need to calm you down before we do anything together. You're always like this." he said fondly and Minghao felt his cheeks flashing.

There it was again, that feeling of being protected. Even after everything the prince has told the other, he still was as comforting as ever. Minghao took a deep breath, really feeling himself relax. This was just Junhui, what did he have to be worried about?

Junhui started humming, like he always did when he knew that the prince was feeling anxious. It was Minghao's favourite thing. Small vibrations passed between chests as Junhui changed the tone of the melody.

The prince couldn’t help but wonder, how Junhui's voice would sound if he actually sang and not just hummed. He made a mental note to ask him to sing someday. For now, the prince sighed and nuzzled further in the knight's hug, seeking his arms around the other's torso.

"Hey," Junhui said at some point. "Where you serious before? Do you really want to have this experience?" he asked softly.

Minghao nodded. No matter how embarrassing it was, he did want this. Junhui made an affirmative sound, and the prince stiffened. What was he going to do now? Was he just going to flip them around and start kissing him or something? Should Minghao even be scared, even if he was the one who asked for it in the first place?

As it turned out, Junhui did absolutely nothing. He kept caressing his back and humming close to his ear, until Minghao's body relaxed again. When he felt Junhui's hands sneaking under his shirt and continue their previous movement, he didn't freeze. When he sensed warm lips gently touch his forehead, all he felt was his body tingling.

"I don't intent to scare you away. ‘First times’ are important, and they are something that you must have a good memory of. So, we will go as slowly as possible.” Junhui explained. “It's your choice if or when you want to stop, okay?" he whispered on his forehead and pecked it again.

He started making his way down on the prince face leaving a trail feather kisses behind. "Any conditions I should know?" he smiled and kissed Minghao's nose.

"Don't... Don't kiss me." Minghao said briefly, starting to get a grip on the situation. "This isn't about love or anything, it’s an experiment. So no kissing." he explained at Junhui's arched eyebrow.

"All right then." Junhui sighed. "No kissing. Got it." he said and thread his fingers in the prince's black locks, tugging them gently. Then his lips started wondering around his face again, effectively avoiding his lips.

Minghao put his elbows next to the sides of the knight's head to support himself. With his thumb he started feeling Junhui's face, his cheek bones, his jaw. He had a handsome face. Behind it though, a crazy mind was hiding. Who agreed with something like that so easily? Not an ordinary person, for sure.

Minghao smiled down at the knight, appreciative and fond. "Let's see how this works now." he said and dipped down to kiss the other's neck.

He kept mouthing at one side of the knight's neck. He heard Junhui sighing and felt the skin under his lips stretch as the Chinese tilted his head to give more space to the prince.

"You're a quick learner. Who taught you that?" the other mumbled.

"I'm a natural." Minghao brought a hand to brush the other's hair to the side. "But tell me if I do something you don't like." he whispered to his ear.

"I will, don't worry." Junhui chuckled and he trailed his hands up on Minghao's back, tucking the shirt along with them.

The prince felt goosebumps appearing, as his skin started being exposed, a shiver wrecking through his frame.

"Let me tell you a secret." Junhui spoke softly as he felt around Minghao's waist.

"Mm what kind of secret?" Minghao raised his lips from Junhui's neck to ask, only to return them again after he spoke.

"Remember when you asked me about my type, back at the dinner with Mingming?” Junhui asked.

Minghao merely hummed as an answer, not stopping his small ministration.

“I think you might have figured it out after all." the other replied, running his hand through the prince's hair.

Minghao chuckled and leaned away from the knight’s neck. "Have I? Can I hear what I discovered?"

"You're just fishing for compliments now." Junhui said and tugged the prince’s shirt. "Off with it."

A pretty blush had spread on Minghao’s face. He looked at Junhui as he grabbed the edges of his shirt between his fingers and with a single motion took his shirt off.

"Well... I would like to hear how you describe your _type_." he said then.

Junhui sat up placing Minghao's legs on each side of his thighs. "Where do I begin." he said, purposely looking at the other up and down.

"First of all, I like black hair." he said and threaded his hands in Minghao's raven locks, slightly pulling his head back to expose his neck "Especially when it’s getting a bit too long." he mumbled on his skin and twirled a finger at the prince’s nape hair.

Junhui then started kissing up his throat, feeling the prince's short breaths against his lips. "Small pointy ears, always decorated by a gorgeous jewel." the knight trailed his lips on Minghao's ear, nibbling the earlobe.

"Beautiful feline eyes; dark like the deepest parts of the sea and full of curiosity for the world around them. Round cheek leading down on a define jaw." Junhui whispered mouthing at the edge if the prince's jawline.

"A cute button nose." he booped their noses together.

There was a moment of silence between them. Minghao noticed how the knight's eyes seemed to drop to his lips and he sucked in a small breath.

"And this would be the part where I’d kissed you." Junhui finally said, cupping Minghao's chin, brushing his lower lip with his thumb.

"You're really smooth with words, aren't you?" Minghao said with a grin, wrapping his arms around the knight's neck.

"I've been told. But it seems that my charms don't work on a certain prince." Junhui grinned and booped their noses again.

"You might be surprised." Minghao shrugged.

"Oh? Surprise me then. What effect did my words have?" Junhui put his hands on Minghao's upper thighs.

The prince smirked. He trailed his fingers downwards taking Junhui's shirt in his hands and lifting it up and over his head. He the dived forward slowly and started mouthing the knight's collar bones.

Junhui hummed and closed his eyes, laying back down and pulling Minghao with him.

The prince kept pecking and nibbling at his chest, drawing more satisfied sounds out of the knight, before, he sat up on his lap. Shirtless Junhui on a bed was quite a sight, Minghao realized. Especially with how red his upper body has gotten after all the attention. Minghao's hand went lower, experimentally tracing his abs. It was kind of satisfying to finally be touching what he first saw back at the waterfall.

"You like what you see?" Junhui asked looking inside the prince's eyes.

"I expected one of those cliché lines sooner or later." Minghao chuckled before dipping down to trace the same abs with his lips.

"Cliché, is my middle name Haohao." the knight laughed lightly and tangled his fingers in Minghao’s once again.

The prince snorted and briefly glanced at Junhui's face. "Don't make me laugh when I'm kissing you." he said and lightly bit the other’s waist.

Junhui uttered a groan and Minghao felt something tugging in his own pants as the sound lingered out of the other’s mouth. His eyes widened in realization. He was getting hard.

"Why did you stop?" Junhui asked lifting his head again to look at him.

Minghao shifted a bit to make sure his observation was accurate. Indeed, his body seemed to enjoy having Junhui beneath him and kissing him all over, as much as his mind did.

That confirmed that he was definitely attracted to men. What were the chances that both he and Mingyu would turn out like this? If only the people back at the palace knew...

He gripped Junhui’s waist with his hand, deciding to let him know too. He placed one of his knees between the other's legs and sat down on his thigh in a way that would certainly send the message. Junhui of course understood immediately what the prince wanted to tell him. He locked gazes with him and reached a hand forward to caress his cheek.

"So your experiment showed you something." he said softly.

"Do you still want to continue?" Minghao asked, laying down on top of the other again.

"Me? Why wouldn't I want to continue? You're the one who found something new. And it's pretty big if you ask me." Junhui said putting Minghao's hair behind his ear gently.

"Okay, if it's still not weird for you." Minghao said and kissed his cheek before crawling back down to his lower body.

When he sat at Junhui's thigh again, the knight lifted his leg up a bit, creating friction and making Minghao suck in a breath. He lifted his eyes to see Junhui smirking down at him.

"Go on, continue." the knight urged him.

Minghao gulped the breath down and sighed. His cheeks had become beautiful shade of red which matched the tip of his ears. The prince leaned down and licked Junhui's waist bone living small bites here and there. Then Junhui lifted his thigh once more.

Minghao actually groaned at the second unexpected touch. His eyes briefly flicked back to Junhui's face before he kept mouthing at him just above his waistband.

"Hey, do you want me to tell you another secret?" Junhui said after a few moments.

Minghao lifted his face. "Tell me." he said without second thought.

This time Junhui reached down and grabbed his hand. He gently led it between his legs, letting Minghao get a feel of his own member.

Minghao's eyes widened once again. Junhui was also hard. He let out a breath when Minghao's fingers made contact with his clothed length. Then he pulled his own hand back, giving a chance for the prince to stop touching him if he wanted to.

The prince looked him surprised. Junhui met his eye with a knowing smile. Minghao looked at his hand. _What if_ , he thought and brushed his palm upwards.

"Mhm, good." Junhui opened his legs a little more.

Minghao’s confidence grew and begun rubbing him slowly. He tried to imagine what he would have liked if their positions were reversed, applying a bit more pressure at his grip. The images in his head combined with Junhui's soft sounds, made more heat travel to his own member.

He started fidgeting trying to find a comfortable position on Junhui's thigh without pressing his own hardness more. But Junhui caught him and started moving his leg between Minghao's knees, lifting it from time to time. Minghao bit his lip, trying to suppress the sounds that threatened to spill out of his mouth. It felt good. Junhui’s tight was firm and strong, slithering smoothly between the prince’s knees.

After a while, Minghao tsked and started dipping his hips to meet Junhui's thigh, creating a much better friction. He let out a groan and squeezed the other's member, who groaned in return.

"You have no idea how hot you look riding my thigh." and Minghao closed his eyes, a bit embarrassed.

"So so good." Junhui said and sat up once more raising his leg complete making Minghao moan out loud.

The prince quickly closed his mouth in same.

"Mmm nooo... I want to hear you. I want to hear your voice, your moans, your groans everything." Junhui mumbled, his mouth meeting the prince's neck and biting there. He snaked one hand around Minghao's waist to keep him steady and with the other he traced small circles around the sting of his breeches.

"I'm not taking these off." Minghao murmured and Junhui halted his movements, probably thinking that the prince didn't want to continue. "Not until you take off yours." Minghao added and Junhui chuckled, pecking his cheek.

"You want me to take my breeches off?" Junhui asked with a smirk.

"It looks like you're struggling to fit down there." Minghao looked up with fake innocence. "Wouldn't it be better if you were free of them?" he mouthed, placing small bites to Junhui's neck. "I could feel you better."

"Go ahead then my prince. Release me." Junhui whispered in Minghao's ear.

For the second time that night, Minghao pushed Junhui back on the mattress, hovering above him.

"Hips up." he ordered, and with quick hands he untied the string, pulling the fabric away.

Once Junhui remained with his undergarments, he was a lot more visible. Minghao took a moment, from his place between the other's legs to look at the newly exposed skin. The knight had strong thighs, probably from horse riding. Minghao grabbed behind his knee and lifted one leg up, kissing the soft skin. His other hand traveled between the knight's legs, scratching the sensitive skin of his thigh just below his undergarment.

"Should I take those off too?" he asked Junhui uncertainly.

Junhui looked at him with half lidded eyes, the faint grin never leaving his thin lips. "Whatever your majesty wishes. I'm a slave to your highness." he said with a voice so deep that made Minghao shiver just by hearing it.

"Be careful though my prince...Don't overdo yourself." he warned.

"So dramatic." Minghao smiled to himself. "Why did I think you would be any different in bed?" he murmured and reached to kiss the other's waist, while his fingers worked the remaining clothes off.

Junhui laughed lightly at the prince's statement. "It’s my nature, my handsome prince." he said as he lifted his hips to help Minghao slip the undergarment from under his ass.

Up until now, Minghao had seen Junhui half-naked before. He hadn't touched him like that, but still, he wasn't on completely unfamiliar territory. For some weird reason, he wasn't feeling as shy as back at the springs, where Junhui had gone in the pool without underwear.

Now Junhui was getting naked because he asked him to. Now Minghao was the one exposing his most private part. The prince looked at the other's face as he wrapped a hand around his member. It felt natural. Junhui's smile flattered a little and his cheeks turned red for some reason as he looked at Minghao.

More courage filled Minghao, seeing that his hand was the one that made Junhui's smile flatter and his cheeks red. With light fingers he started moving the saft of the knight's member up and down, never taking his eyes off of the other.

Junhui's chest started rising more quickly as Minghao built up a pace. When he saw Junhui getting lost in the sensation and closing his eyes, he stopped. The knight’s eyes snapped open again and let out a deep sigh.

"You're one hell of a tease Haohao." he said with a tight smile, his eyes not looking at the prince.

"You should’ve known that by now. I love teasing people in my own _special_ way." Minghao leaned and whispered close to Junhui's lips.

Quickly he brought a finger on the member's head, scratching Junhui's slit with his nail. He watched as the knight tried to contain his groans, small droplets of sweat forming on his forehead, making his hair stick on it.

Minghao swept them away with his other hand. "You're so handsome Junhui." he said softly, placing a quick peck on his cheek.

Junhui let out a breathy chuckle. "Thank you." he said softly, before tangling his fingers at the prince's hair again.

As Minghao picked up speed again, he felt Junhui's grip tighten around his locks. Minghao realized that the slight pull of his hair didn't feel bad at all.

"Minghao, if you continue like that... I'm not gonna hold on any longer." Junhui groaned and pulled the prince's hair again.

"Alright." Minghao lifted his hand and carelessly wiped it at the sheets, earning an amused look from the other. "Still want to go all the way?" he asked Junhui.

"Are gonna ask me every time?" Junhui smirked and slide on his knees facing the prince.

He took Minghao's chin in his fingers brushing his thumb on it. "I'm here because you asked me to, and I'm willing to go on as far as _you_ want." he said softly and dived in to kiss the prince's nose.

"Well then." Minghao leaned around him to grab the oil vial.

When he faced Junhui he felt kind of nervous again. Without thinking too much about it, he hugged Junhui and started leaving butterfly kisses on his neck. Junhui's light laugh was great for his nerves.

The knight brushed his hand from Minghao's back, down to his waist, before he cupped the prince's behind to pull him closer, squeezing it a bit. Minghao buried his face on his neck with a quiet groan.

"Will you lie down for me, your highness?" Junhui asked, licking a stripe of sweat that crippled down the prince’s neck.

Minghao heaved a sighed, nodding his head.

"Don't worry. I'm here and I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise." the knight whispered softly and kissed Minghao's ear shell.

The prince sighed and left Junhui's warm hug to lie down. Immediately Junhui was on top of him smiling down at him sweetly. He trailed his hand towards the prince's hard erection and stoked it a few times before he hooked a finger under the waistband again.

"We made a deal my prince. It's not fair for me to be the only one naked." he said.

"Your body looks so much better than mine though." Minghao said but helped Junhui relieve him of his clothes anyway.

"That's not true. Your body is gorgeous." Junhui said as he untangled the breeches and the undergarments off Minghao's legs, leaving him bare in front of his eyes.

Minghao blushed and covered his face with his hands. The knight sighed and wiggled himself between his legs. With gentle hands he removed the prince's palms off his face and smiled down on him.

"You're special in your own way." Junhui said and caressed Minghao’s cheek. "I like your body so much Haohao."

Junhui began pecking his way down on Minghao's thin body frame.

"Every inch of you is perfect. From your collarbones to your ribs. From your tummy to your waist. And from your hips to your toes. Your long legs and your creamy thighs. Your slender fingers and your shapely biceps. Your cute butt and your hot hardness." as Junhui finished his sentence his had already reached Minghao's center. With a smirk he took a long lick on the others cock.

Minghao jerked at the wet feeling. His legs tried to close on their own, trapping Junhui's head between his thighs. The knight laughed and gently massaged them open again.

"You can't say stuff like that and then do... that." Minghao whined at the other's amused laugh.

"Stuff like..." Junhui licked the head of his cock again, "that?"

"Oh my god." Minghao squeaked. His face was burning, but the tickle of the pleasure that ran through his veins, was intensifying more under his skin.

The knight stifled a laugh. Minghao then felt fingers wrapping around his hard member, before Junhui started tugging him lightly. Hot numbness started spreading around the prince’s body, breath tangling in his throat before passing through his lips. It felt _so_ good.

Junhui then leaned further down, near the head. “Take a breath." He whispered, and before Minghao could prosses the words, the knight slipped the whole length inside his mouth, enveloping it until his nose reached Minghao's navel.

Minghao moaned loudly, the loudest he had been that night. The heat the wrapped around his most sensitive parts was so sudden, that the prince almost chocked. Junhui didn't let him catch his breath as he begun bobbing his head up and down, in a slow but sensual way.

"Wait, wait, wait." Minghao's hands reached down to hold his head. "It's too much." he said, his lower lip sticking out in a pout.

Junhui as promised, he stopped immediately. He sat back on the heels of his feet again, looking concerned. "I'm sorry. Did I get too far?" he asked.

"No I- it's okay." Minghao said quickly. "I just wasn't prepared. I'm sorry, come here." he tugged the other's hand.

Junhui closed his legs and came to lay next to him with his arm thrown over the prince’s waist. “You are full of surprises." Junhui smiled at him. "Let me guess, you still want to continue?"

"More than anything..." Minghao mumbled. “It feels good, but... I don't want you to be that far. I would rather you to be closer to me. It makes me feel more relaxed."

Junhui smiled at him fondly. "I never expected to hear such a thing from you. How can I say no?" he said and nuzzled the prince's face.

Minghao's smile returned. He then perched himself on the elbow, leaning behind him to take the small vial. "Here. I'm trusting you with this.” he said and gave the oil to Junhui. “Get to work." he winked before laying again, placing his bicep under the knight’s head.

Junhui took the vial in his hand and nodded. He hooked his hand under Minghao's knee, placing it on top of him own hip. He then started caressing the prince's soft behind, drawing a long sighed out of him.

Minghao was still painfully hard, and the smallest touch the knight did, tingled his senses more. Junhui waited for a moment, making sure that Minghao was completely calm. The prince once again couldn’t stop himself from thinking how sweet that was.

When the other was sure that the prince’s nerves had died down, he opened the small bottle and dipped his middle finger inside it, coating it properly. Then he brought the finger on Minghao's entrance but didn't touch it just yet.

"I’m gonna start, okay? Tell me if you want to stop. And please try to be as calm as possible. I don't want to you to get hurt." Junhui advised with feathery voice.

"Calm is my middle name." Minghao joked, brushing the other's hair with his free hand.

"Alright then. Here I go." Junhui warned again before started circling his fingertip around the ring muscle. With his other hand grabbed Minghao's length again, moving it in a slow pace just to distract him.

"Much better..." Minghao mumbled around a sigh, relaxing his muscles as much as possible.

The knight found the chance then to slide the finger inside little by little. At the same time, he quickened the pace of his other hand so it would be easier for the prince to take it in.

Minghao instinctively clenched again. He let out a grunt and wrapped his other arm around Junhui's neck as well. "That's... kind of uncomfortable." he said through gritted teeth.

"It will be at the beginning. Trust me. You will see the fun part later. But for now, you must endure it. Just for a little." Junhui said softly.

He lifted his head a bit and caught one of the prince's nipples in his mouth. He rubbed his tongue on it making it perk up in attention.

Minghao didn't make a sound. The feeling of the finger in his ass was overpowering the other sensations. He felt kind of disappointed. Was this really, what all that fuss was about? Was that, what made the other three filled with happiness and pleasure?

As the minutes ticked by, the slight burn disappeared and Junhui could move less forcefully. That did make it a little better, but the pleasure was mostly coming from the hand on his member.

"You don't like it, do you?" Junhui said, noticing the slight frown on the Minghao’s face.

His movement halted again, his finger still buried inside the younger. "Let's take it even slower then." he murmured and turned his head up to kiss the prince's jawline.

He began feeling around Minghao's walls, barley twitching inside him. Junhui focused on rubbing from the inside, instead of simply thrusting. With his other hand he thumbed the top of his length, spreading the precum. Minghao let out a sigh at that.

"See... much better, right?" Junhui said between small bites on Minghao's throat. He then curled his finger a little more and suddenly Minghao jolted with a small yelp.

"Hmm there it is." Junhui hummed.

"... what?" Minghao asked.

"Boring male anatomy." Junhui murmured, trailing kisses all over the other's chest.

He lightly pressed his finger against the same spot, as softly as he could to not shock the prince again. Minghao let out another muffled groan.

"You're so special my prince." Junhui murmured. "I have to treat you so delicately. So precious."

Minghao groaned and buried his nose in Junhui's hair, his hands fisting around the dark locks. He felt the other building a rhythm, his light thrusts that went along with the tugs on his member. The prince moaned at the pressure inside him.

"You're like a rose Haohao. You have thorns all over to protect you from your enemies, and yet you're still so beautiful and fragile to the touch." Junhui said again.

Minghao didn't know if it was because of Junhui's pretty words or the touches that indeed began feeling good, but he felt like he was slowly melting. Like a fire was slowly spreading under his skin.

"So poetic..." he groaned atop Junhui's head.

The knight lightly bit his shoulder, while his finger began sliding inside him more easily.

"You're pretty loose Haohao... Do you want more, or should I make you cum like that?" he asked and applied more pressure to the other's sensitive spot.

"I told you I want to go until the end. Continue, please." the prince groaned.

Junhui smirked. "Alright then..." he said, taking his finger out.

Minghao made a whining sound at the back of his throat.

"Relax. It's not over." the knight voiced as he dipped the second finger in the oil, bringing both of them again the prince's entrance. Junhui entered the first finger again.

Minghao sighed in the other’s hair. Junhui begun slow again, to let the him adjust to the new size.

"It feels so full... How are you going to fit...?" the prince mumbled, more to himself than Junhui.

Junhui groaned. "Don't tell things like that Haohao." he whined.

"Come on." Minghao bucked his hips slightly. "More. I can take it."

The knight looked closely at the prince’s face and smiled a little. He placed his mouth on Minghao’s throat and bit a little.

"As you wish..." he whispered between the bites and started wiggling a third finger inside to join the other two. His free hand remained on tugging Minghao’s cock.

Minghao clenched around the fingers and pursed his lips. "Fuck." he cursed and Junhui stopped thrusting again.

"Do you like the stretch?" Junhui asked and begun flexing his fingers, three fingers applying more pressure to Minghao's walls than before.

Minghao moaned as the knight hit his sensitive spot once again. "Oh my God. I'm so fuckin' full... Junhui!"

All Minghao's senses were suddenly on alert. He felt so many things at the same time. The pleasing strokes on his licking cock, the gentle but edging rubs on his walls and the wet feeling of Junhui's mouth on his nipples. This was different than before. It was nerve-racking, pleasing, numbing. It was all that and more. Minghao started to get the idea of what Wonwoo experienced that time at the springs.

"Is your experiment going well?" Junhui asked with a smirk.

Minghao just nodded frantically, not trusting himself with words. Junhui worked him _so_ good, that the prince started become needier and needier as the time passed. He felt his hole loosening more after every trust of Junhui's fingers.

"Junhui..." he gasped. "I want more..."

"Minghao maybe we should wait-"the knight trailed.

"No, I need it. I need you… please Gē." the prince moaned.

"God. If you put it like that, how can I resist you?" Junhui took out his fingers with a plop.

As he reached for the oil to coat his cock, Minghao swiftly pushed him down again and climbed on top of him. Junhui arched an eyebrow, but the other smirked at him weakly.

"I'm the prince I should provide for my subjects." Minghao said with a smirk. "Time for me to please you... _Gē_." Minghao leaned and whispered seductively in the knight's ear.

"Huh, by all means." Junhui ran his hands over Minghao's thighs.

The prince took his cock in his hand, pumping it a little before finishing coating it with the oil. Junhui bit his lip as he watched himself getting slick and glistening both from the oil and precum between Minghao's pretty hands.

When Minghao was satisfied with the amount of oil he had used he stood on his knees and shuffled forward. He leaned and kissed once more Junhui's neck and then stood back up, lining himself with the other's member. He quickly took a deep breath and sat down taking effectively all Junhui's cock inside him with one go.

Two loud moans were heard, mixing together in the heavy air of the room.

"God...You're so big Junhui!" Minghao whimpered, throwing his head back.

"That was so..." Junhui tried to say but his words failed him. "Sudden." he finished. "Are you okay baby?"

Minghao moaned again. _‘Baby’_ How good the word was heard, coming out of the knight’s mouth. And how hot made Minghao's insides knowing that it was for him. The prince started moving then. Slowly lifting himself up and snapping back down, earning a groan from Junhui every time his ass made contact with his hips.

"So tight..." the knight groaned.

It did burn. It was too sudden, and the stretch was borderline uncomfortable, but it was all worth it to see Junhui's face change like that as he gripped hard on Minghao’s hips tightly. Minghao was amazed with how much this turned him on.

After a few thrusts, the prince's breath had turned rugged. He let his hands grip Junhui's arms as he continued to move, getting more lose as he pleased himself.

"Let me help." Junhui said.

Minghao halted. He saw the knight lifting his back and shuffling further up in bed, dragging Minghao along. Junhui leaned on the headboard and placed his palms on Minghao's waist with a more secure grip this time.

He threaded his fingers in the prince's mullet, grabbing a fist full of them and tugging them back, exposing Minghao's long neck. Then he leaned forward and placed his lips on his collarbone, sucking hard.

"Move." he growled deep.

Minghao begun bouncing again, a little slower than before. He wanted to really feel the slide of the other's inside him. He let out loud grunts as he felt a hickey forming on his torso as his hair were pulled back. He was slipping, sinking more into this pleasing sensation. It fogged his mind, breaking his logic completely.

"Yes, Jun, so good." he breathed, and he clenched around the knight’s cock, making the other let out a moan.

"You like baby, hm?" Junhui whispered in his ear and snapped his hips up with a little more force.

"You look so sexy Haohao. Riding me like that. So good for me." he continued mumbling near Minghao's neck, his breath ghosting the prince's skin.

"You're cumming first." Minghao said with a smirk and pulled slightly back, lifting Junhui's chin up with his fingers.

"Is that an order your highness?" Junhui smirked and looked Minghao.

"Maybe..." the prince said and stuck his tongue out.

Something unexpected happened then. Junhui leaned in and bit his tongue lightly. But he didn't stop there. Slowly he touched Minghao's lips with his own sealing them together.

"I told I would bite that tongue someday..." he growled once he leaned away.

Minghao's eyes widened slightly, an uncertain look washing over his face. He stopped moving and looked at Junhui's hazy eyes and his heaving chest.

"Did you just..." he begun saying but the other didn't let him finish.

He grabbed his thighs and flipped them around, pinning Minghao beneath him on the mattress by the hands and started thrusting his hips again. The prince opened his lips for a surprised, silent moan and Junhui dived down, finally crashing their lips together hardly.

Minghao yelp in the kiss. The world was spinning around him. Junhui's lips were so soft and warm on his. The sensation was greater than Minghao had ever imagined it would be. To be kissed while your most vulnerable places are exposed and treated with pleasure? Now he surely knew what Wonwoo felt. What Jeonghan and Jisoo felt.

Minghao wanted to hold onto Junhui, thread his fingers in his sweaty hair, but his arms were still pinned down. He had absolutely no control now. No teasing, no dirty talking, he couldn't do anything. He was completely open for Junhui to do whatever he pleased, and it was driving him insane.

His moans started coming louder, muffled between Junhui's rough kisses. He was at his peak and the fall was going to be hard

After some time Junhui's thrust became clumsier and his groans louder. He stopped kissing Minghao and leaned his forehead on his with his eyes closed.

"Junhui." Minghao's moan made him snap his eyes open. "You want to cum?" he asked.

"Yeah." the other said with a shaky voice.

Minghao tugged his hands out of the other's grip and pulled him closer. He lifted his legs and wrapped them around the other's waist, creating a deeper angle, before clenching on Junhui as hard as he could.

The knight's moans were muffled on Minghao's shoulder and his arms shook as he came, hot and sticky liquid spilling inside the prince.

It was a weirdly pleasant sensation. Minghao moaned in Junhui's ear coaxing him to come down from his high. He felt Junhui stop, his chest raising and falling as he gasped for air.

After a moment the knight slid out of Minghao and the younger whined. He was still painfully hard and needy. Like he read his mind Junhui stuck three fingers inside him, finding his sensitive spot and rubbing it repeatedly. His other hand grabbed Minghao's cock once more, pumping it as his mouth enveloped the head shucking.

"Fuck!" Minghao cursed loudly as he felt his back arch.

It was like an amazing force grabbed him and threw him over the edge, and he felt helpless as he just kept falling. His body writhed in pleasure as he came and he gripped Junhui's wrist so hard, it might have left a bruise.

Junhui made a few more tugs at Minghao's length to be sure that he had cum completely and took his fingers out.

Minghao heaved a sigh. "Come up here." he managed to tug the other's wrist between loud breaths and hazy eyes, his voice a weak shadow of his normal one.

Junhui wiped his fingers on the sheets and crawled forward, laying beside the prince. Junhui opened his arms and he saw Minghao wiggled inside them. He enveloped him gently, placing a small peck on the prince's sweaty forehead. Minghao whined.

"Shh. How do you feel?" the knight asked as he caressed the prince's back.

"I feel like I want to kiss you. But not really." Minghao mumbled, taking big calming breaths.

"Should I be offended?" Junhui chuckled.

"No. You should kiss me instead. Because I won't." Minghao said quietly.

Junhui chuckled again. He took Minghao's chin in his fingers, lifting his head so the prince could look at him. He tugged a strand of hair behind his ear and smiled warmly. Junhui then leaned forward and whispered in Mandarin;

"So precious baobei." and connected their lips.

The kiss was soft and calming, nothing like the one they previously shared. The prince melted with it, feeling happy tingles throughout his spent body.

It suddenly hit Minghao that he could see this happening. Scenes flashed before his eyes. Whenever they hugged, whenever Junhui decided to sing for him, Minghao could see how soft kisses like these would fit perfectly.

But this was dangerous territory. Especially after what they had done tonight. Minghao felt the consequences of their action coming, but he decided to force them to wait.

Tonight, he was going to fall asleep naked and sticky, with Wen Junhui caressing his lips with his own, the results of his experiment being the last thing that was on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for today!!!!!
> 
> FINALLY JUNHAO~~~~
> 
> I would really love to hear your opinion about this one!!!! So please I'll be waiting for ypur comments!!!
> 
> Until the next update; take care, have fun and stay healty!
> 
> -SkWh


	23. I'm sorry I love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people!!!!!!!!
> 
> Back with the 23rd chapter of our lovly story.   
> I feel for some reason that I'm late at updating this, but I had the worst trip last night, going back to the town my uni is. It was a disaster...
> 
> Anyway back to us and without further ado...
> 
> Enjoy~~~

The next morning came quicker than Junhui was expecting. As soon as the first ray of the sun hit the knight on the face he groaned, burring himself further under the messy covers. His head felt heavy and his limps were limp at his sides. Maybe that was because he slept like a stone the previous night.

Though he wasn't entirely sure if it was the alcohol's fault or because he had an exceptionally good night. Who would have thought that the prince would ask him such a thing? Junhui was proud of the young prince and himself. They were finally getting _somewhere_.

The knight had finally gained Minghao's trust and that was obviously shown by the last night’s request. If Junhui wanted to be totally honest with himself though, he would say that he was expecting something along the lines of this request sooner or later. Minghao had a kin sense of curiosity, and the knight was sure that one day he would start asking _questions_ about their friends’ relationship.

Of course he was taken aback by that favor, it was the least expected thing. But Junhui had indeed promised that he would help the young prince with anything he wanted. So he agreed on the experiment. An ‘experiment’ that judging by how it ended, was really good.

Grinning mischievously, he peeked his head out of the blanket, turning around to greed the prince. But his eyes fell on an empty and cold space beside him. Funny he was sure that they slept together after their 'experiment' as the prince liked to call it.

Junhui frowned and lifted his head a bit, noticing that Minghao's boots were also gone.

So he had left. Junhui sighed.

It wasn't like there were supposed to be any feelings in what they did, the prince had made it clear. It was just something he wanted to try and the knight had been a convenient solution. This was completely casual and it shouldn't interfere with their already messy relationship.

Judging from the disappointed feeling that had settled in his stomach though, his heart didn't get the memo.

Again, if Junhui wanted to be totally honest with himself, he would admit that last night was something more than just a mere acceptance of a favor.

Something ticklish was blossoming inside his stomach, as he started recalling the previous night little by little. It had felt so natural yet so unreal. The way Minghao touched Junhui, the way he spoke to him, the way he kissed him…

Another sigh left his lips as he stood up to take a quick shower. He was sweaty and covered in sticky cum, so a bath would refresh him. But showers are the thing that is tightly combined with thinking. So Junhui's mind started wondering as soon as the knight splashed the first basin of water on his head.

Why there was this unsettling feeling creeping inside him all of a sudden?

Before last night happened, Minghao and he had been getting along the best ever since they met each other. There was no denying that this pleased Junhui greatly. Minghao had always been a special case for him. From anger and disappointment to hope and acceptance, their relationship was marked by a lot of effort from both sides. He didn't want to lose that.

Junhui's eyes widened as the cold water splashed him on the back. Was there a chance that they had to start all over again? He dreaded that more than anything. He felt his stomach knotting up only with the thought that the prince would cut all the tights between them. It couldn't be.

Minghao was the one that asked him in the first place. He should have seen that coming right? The knight shook his head, snatching the towel from the small counter to dry himself. Maybe he is just overthinking?

But what if Minghao hadn't really thought this through? Junhui knew that he liked physical contact in the morning. The fact that the prince left early, must meant that something was wrong with him.

What if something unexpected happened with their ‘experiment’ last night? Junhui knew how much that would trouble the prince. He was the type of person that he didn’t want to stray away from his original plan. So even a minor change, made him anxious.

But again, why Minghao didn’t wait for the knight to wake up so they could talk about it?

Junhui groaned, ruffling his hair harshly with the towel. Nothing made sense.

He exited the bathroom and started dressing up. Perhaps if he found Minghao then he could actually understand what was going on. With that thought in mind, Junhui slipped his boots around his feet as soon as he was ready and exited the room.

It was pretty quiet on the upper floors with most of the rooms being empty. Downstairs, at the also empty pub, he saw one table being occupied by his three friends, Jeonghan and Seungcheol. They were drinking that messy tea the inn owner had made the previous morning, chatting lightly amongst themselves.

Mingyu was heavily leaning on Wonwoo’ shoulder, his closed and his brow furrowed, probably with a headache. Wonwoo was gently brushing his hair back, bringing tea to his lips every now and then.

For a moment, Junhui felt a tug envy in his heart. Everything was so easy between those two. How could two people be so well in synch with one another, while he struggled so much to communicate with a certain prince?

Finally his attention was brought to the said prince. Minghao was leaning behind on his chair a wooden cup between his slender fingers. His eyes were stuck at the liquid his cup had unfocused, probably lost on thought. His head snapped up though snapped up though as soon as he heard the Chinese approaching. For a moment their eyes met and Junhui sent him a smile but Minghao just looked away his fingers clenching around his tea.

Something dropped in the knight's stomach. Something heavy.

"Good morning!" Seungcheol was the first to greet him, pulling another chair to their already crowded table.

"Did you sleep well?" Jeonghan asked piped up.

"I..." Junhui trailed, unconsciously sending Minghao a side glance. "Yes very well. Thank you." he said and sat down.

"You know, it's a good thing you people came to visit us. I had almost forgotten how to make tea, but now I'm a master again." Seungcheol poured a cup for Junhui, not even asking if he wanted any in his excitement.

The Chinese looked at him. "Thank you. Though you may want to change your recipe a bit." he commented with an apologetic smile.

Jeonghan let out a gasp and covered Seungcheol’s ears. "Don't listen to this nonsense Cheolie." he said and the other laughed amused.

"The recipe's fine. Jisoo makes it perfect all the time. It's my advanced skills that you puny mortals are not used to and think I make bad tea." the inner owner said, puffing his chest teasingly.

"Well no offence to Jisoo-sii but the ingredients of the tea are a little messy. Tell him to try adding dried fruit in the mix, like apple and orange. I think it will balance the flavor." Junhui said and took a sip of the hot tea.

"Well he does add pears. But obviously Cheolie can't be bothered with pears." Jeonghan came to Jisoo's defense, making Seungcheol pout at him.

Mingyu laughed a little at that comment, with his eyes still closed. He was clearly amused by the conversation. Wonwoo chuckled too from bedside him. Junhui's eyes couldn’t help but trail back to Minghao though. He looked lost in thought again. A strange but strong urge to hug him washed over the Chinese knight. He wanted to make him stop thinking so much and enjoy the few days they had there. But the prince didn’t even spare him a glance.

"So what are you going to do today? Will you stay all day in, or will you visit the town?" Seungcheol asked leaning further in his chair and crossing his legs.

"Yes, I want to go to the town!" Mingyu suddenly perked up, making Minghao jump in surprise at the loud noise next to him.

"You do?" Wonwoo asked curiously.

Mingyu's eyes seemed to widen a little before he nodded. "You can't come though." he stressed.

"I can't?" Wonwoo tilted his head.

"No. No, no, because... Minghao asked me to go with him for something personal. Yeah." Mingyu said unconvincingly.

"He did?" Wonwoo's simple questions seemed to make the footman more and more nervous. "You did?" the knight turned to ask the prince, who looked like a deer caught in the headlines.

For a split second Minghao looked beyond confused. But as soon as his eyes met Mingyu’s pleading ones he nodded. "Um of course." he said clearing his throat.

"Don't worry love. We'll be back shortly, yeah?" Mingyu wrapped his arms around the other and pulled him to his chest.

"You will?" Wonwoo's tone was a bit more subdued than before, as his hand clutched Mingyu's shirt.

Junhui caught it. Its was time to interfere, just like he did the previous night with Mingyu.

"Alright, great. Now we can have some time just the two of us Won. Like we did back at the palace." he said and smiled at his friend.

"I can go with them too, a walk in the town will be lovely at this hour. Besides we need some things for the inn.” Jeonghan piped in the conversation reading through the atmosphere. “I'll make sure I'll return them safe and sound."

Junhui nodded along, even though the words were meant mostly for Wonwoo. It was a pity he wouldn't get to talk to Minghao yet. But at least he could finally spend some long-waited his friend. As Seungcheol had pointed out yesterday, it had been a really long time since the two of them have sat together to talk. So Mingyu’s plan to buy the book was actually a really good opportunity. He should return the oil too.

Wonwoo would ask questions, Junhui was almost a hundred percent sure about it. But that wasn’t necessarily bad for him. Maybe his friend had some good pieces of advice to offer about Junhui’s problem with the prince.

"Alright then. What are we waiting for, let's go." Mingyu said, standing up.

He immediately regretted the sudden movement though, as he clutched his head and groaned painfully, falling back down in Wonwoo's arms.

"Or not." Jeonghan commented with a teasing laugh.

"Mingyu, try to get up slower. The fresh air will be good for you." Minghao spoke then.

His voice sounded detached to Junhui’s ears, like he spoke without actually wanted to. It was obvious in his eyes though, the need to flee, to get as far away as possibly could.

Junhui felt his heart clenching painfully in his chest. Was it because _he_ was there? Was it his fault that Minghao wanted to leave the inn so quickly? Was it because of the previous night’s experiment?

"Right. Let's go." the knight heard Mingyu saying then as he tried to get up once more.

This time there was no groan accompanying his movement, so Mingyu was beside the standing prince in a second. Junhui looked at them as they turned to leave. It was now or never.

"Minghao." he couldn't help but call, and all eyes fell on him.

All but those he had actually wanted to see.

"What is it?" the prince asked without turning to look at him.

A part of Junhui didn't expect the prince to actually answer, especially as casually as he did. The knight found himself at a loss of words. That felt like the greatest failure in communication Junhui had experienced with Minghao ever since he met him. It was even worse than the beginning when they clearly _did_ despise each other. It felt so bitter and wrong.

"Just... be careful." he decided to say at the end.

Minghao simply nodded and walked away with Mingyu. Junhui heard the footman ask a curious ‘ _what was that?’_ , but he didn't hear what the prince replied. He returned his attention at the table, only to feel Jeonghan's intense eyes studying him closely.

"Come on Hannie, the others left." Seungcheol lightly tugged his lover's hair.

"Yes right." Jeonghan said and stood up from the table. He gave a kiss on Seungcheol's cheek and waved at the rest of the company before trailing behind the other two.

As soon as the three were out of the doorway, Junhui looked to the ground and sighed.

"Hey, what was this icy atmosphere all of a sudden?" Wonwoo asked him from across the table. "You seemed like you were getting along these days. Did something happen?"

"Well... maybe it wasn't as good as it seemed." Junhui shrugged. But pained him. It pained him to admit that indeed him and Minghao were at the bottom line once again.

They pushed themselves too much. They should have just stayed on that comfortable little balance they had found. Why did Minghao ask for more? And why did Junhui agree?

There were supposed to be no feelings attached, that was what Minghao said when he asked the knight about his ‘experiment’. But hell, as they were kissing before falling asleep Junhui was full of them.

The truth hit him hard and so suddenly, that Junhui almost tumbled over his chair. He did felt things. He had feelings for the prince. That could explain the ticklish thing that he felt as soon as he woke up. Hell, that could even explain the great disappointment that filled him when he didn’t find the prince sleeping beside him this morning. And the heavy thing that dropped in his stomach previously, when Minghao didn’t acknowledged his presence. It was his heart.

Those invisible feelings were the reason the knight always felt attached to the young prince. Why he wanted to protect him and why he was always worried about him. Why he chose to stay close, even if Minghao was constantly shoving him away. Why he had promised so many things and why he always felt like keeping those promises. His eyes widened in realization.

That was when Wonwoo elbowed him lightly.

"Hey, is everything alright?" he asked his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

Junhui grabbed his hand, but his eyes didn't leave the floor. He had a lot to make clear. What kind of feelings did he have? At what part exactly did Minghao's way of thinking begun fascinating him instead of repulsing him? When did he stop being merely Mingyu's friend and became someone important to him? It was before they left the castle. They had naturally started depending on each other, even if they didn't like it at the time.

But they had all those talks, all those fights, it felt like they were molding together, melting their edges to fit with each other. And when their personalities started to fit in together, so did their bodies. All those hugs, all these times they slept together, it was a physical reflection of how they were progressing. If he thought of it like that, what happened last night was only natural after their non-physical connection peeked.

He felt Wonwoo caressing his hand lightly with his thumb as he got a feeling about the whole situation.

"Seungcheol-sii. Can I have more tea please?" the knight asked, trying to provide some private space so he could talk to Wonwoo more freely.

The inn owner nodded and stood up from his seat to go and make some more tea.

"Something happened last night, didn’t it?" Wonwoo asked softly. "Would you care to share?"

It was one of those rare times when Junhui couldn't find words to express himself. He was bad at talking about his feelings anyway and complexity of the situation didn’t help much. In the end, he decided to go about it the same way the prince had.

"Minghao broke your lantern." he said.

"Wait what? No, it was just..." Wonwoo tried to say but then Junhui shot him a knowing look. "But why?" the other asked.

"He snatched your oil. He was curious." Junhui stated simply, pursing his lips. "And I… I helped him satisfy that curiosity."

It took Wonwoo a second to connect the dots, but once he did, he gapped at Chinese. "The oil? You mean the oil for the..." he said and Junhui nodded. "Oh my God." the knight whispered shocked, placing his hand in front of his mouth.

"That's why he was limping today? He told us that he fell off the bed and hit his waist." Wonwoo said.

"No, he didn't fall off the bed, I can confirm that. I held him against my chest all night." Junhui said and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Alright then.” Wonwoo exhaled. “Minghao and you… um did it then.”

Junhui groaned, hitting his head on the table.

“Why are you like this?” the other asked surprised. “Back at the castle you were so confident about these things. What changed now?”

Junhui huffed, rubbing his hand on his face. “Everything seemed so easier there. When it came to those kinds of things I mean.”

“Hardly.” Wonwoo chuckled, patting the Chinese’s hand.

A small pause and Junhui groaned again. "Look I don’t know what’s wrong with me, alright? All I know is that Minghao came to me last night and asked me to have sex with him, so that he can experience what you do.”

Wonwoo’s eyes widen at that. “Oh my God, I can’t believe this. He seriously said that?”

Junhui hummed with a small nod. “He also said we weren’t supposed to involve feelings in it because it was just an ‘experiment’. So when I agreed, I didn't think..." he trailed off.

“Now hold on just a minute. Jun? Are we really having this conversation for the second time?” Wonwoo almost gasped, and Junhui threw him a glare. “Is this some kind of déjà vu or something?”

“Ha ha very funny Won.” Junhui said unamused.

Wonwoo sighed, coming down from his playful mood. "Let me guess. You think that there are feelings involved between you two? Something more than… um what you had until now?"

“Won I don’t know. Minghao…” Junhui bit his lip in thought. "He doesn't look like he doesn't care about me, you know? He hugs me a lot more these days. Voluntarily. And I guess we got really close after that fight we had at the springs. I talk to him about things too..."

"Yes Junhui, but what about you? What do you feel?" Wonwoo asked placing a hand on the Chinese shoulder.

"Honestly, right now I feel sickly disappointed." Junhui confessed. “My stomach is knotted up, like I want to puke or something.”

That whole honesty thing with Minghao had begun rubbing off on him. It was easier to talk to Wonwoo now that it had been when they were at the palace.

"And why's that? Come on Jun talk to me. Jokes aside, I'm here for you just like you were there for me when I found out about my feelings for Mingyu." Wonwoo said encouragingly.

"It's not the same." Junhui shook his head. "Mingyu adored you from day one. What I have with Minghao can be described as _unstable_ at best." the knight stretched his arms backwards.

"Not all relationships start off the same. You and Minghao are different. Your relationship was weird from the beginning but that doesn't mean that it can't get better.” Wonwoo pointed out. “The real question is; do you have feelings for the prince, Junhui?" he then asked more serious.

"Do I now?" Junhui hummed enigmatically with his eyes closed.

"If you don't, then what is the point of this whole conversation?" the other arched an eyebrow.

Junhui heaved a sigh. Who was he trying to fool anymore? No amount of confusing words could trick himself into denying these feelings.

"I care about him. Like, a lot. It's... mesmerizing watching him dealing with his flaws. Sometimes I feel like I want to protect him from everything, so he doesn't have to put up another fight in his life. But his battle is with his own mind sometimes, and that only makes me care about him more." he explained softly, still not opening his eyes.

Wonwoo smiled and rolled his eyes. "There we are, feelings. You do have them, they are there." he commanded the smile changing into a smirk.

At that moment Seungcheol was back with one more kettle filled with warm tea. He started purring the liquid in their cups, sitting down as soon as he finished again.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked.

"My feelings. But don't worry, we all missed them." Junhui took a cup of tea.

He let out a sound of approval when he saw that Seungcheol took the time to prepare the tea properly, with the pears Jeonghan had mentioned.

Wonwoo tsked at Junhui's comment. "That was lame." he said.

"You don't get to talk about being lame." Junhui grinned around the rim of his cup.

"Oh come on now." Wonwoo threw his hands in the air. "Is this how's going to be?" he said but smiled non the less.

"What do you want me to say?" Junhui huffed. "Minghao said not to kiss him last night. I did it anyway. Maybe that was the mistake?"

Wonwoo facepalmed. "Why? He told you not to, you idiot." he sighed.

"Wait why shouldn't you though?" Seungcheol asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Because kisses bring feelings." Junhui simply stated. "And I'm not going into detail, but it was impossible _not_ to kiss him the moment I did."

"Well that indicates that you have feelings for him, rights?" the inn owner said.

"Apparently I do. But he doesn't speak to me. So I guess the wisest thing to do I to ignore them and pray that we will get back to where we were someday." the Chinese knight shrugged.

"Ooor, hear me out on this,” Wonwoo scooted closer to him with his chair, "you go and talk to him when he returns, because you care about him and he seemed rather quiet this morning?"

"Will that make any good? I mean you know him Won. Minghao isn't exactly the type of person that accepts changes very well. Even if I talk him, who tells me that he will understand what I'm feeling?" Junhui asked.

"I believe in you. Your relationship has always been unique. You'll find a way to communicate again, I'm sure." Wonwoo patted his back. “And I wouldn’t be so sure about the part of him _not_ understanding. We are in fact talking about the one and only Xu Minghao.”

“He is bizarre, isn’t he?” Junhui chuckled fondly.

“He is a lot. And he is a mess.” Wonwoo smiled. “A mess that only a certain knight that I know can untangle.”

Junhui looked the other in the eyes. Wonwoo was a good friend. He always had an answer for everything. Well except maybe his own things with Mingyu, but that's when Junhui came along to help him instead. The Chinese smiled sweetly and hugged his friend. He felt a lot better.

"Thank you Won. You're the best." he said in his friend’s shoulder.

"It's nothing." Wonwoo answered patting his back.

"You guys sure have a weird life." Seungcheol commented, making the other two laugh, effectively lifting the mood.

"You're the one in a polyamory relationship." Junhui pointed out.

"And yet I'm a simple inn owner living a peaceful life." the other said again.

"Seungcheolie!" Jisoo's voice was heard from upstairs.

"Almost peaceful..." Seungcheol sighed and stood up walking towards the stairs.

~*~

"So something like the Hunchback of Notre dame? Historical fiction-ish." Mingyu was trying to explain at a lady in the third bookstore they visited.

"Hmm. Alright then follow me please." the woman said politely, leading the three of them further inside the shop towards an aisle with a sign on it that read _'Historical'_.

"Take your time and choose whatever you want. I'll be at the front if you want to ask something." she voiced sweetly and walked away.

"Historical fiction." Jeonghan commented, immediately spotting the nearest chair, and sitting on it. "Quite a genre. Not that I read a lot, but it sounds like it suits Wonwoo."

" _Books_ suits Wonwoo. Generally. I swear back at his room at the castle I couldn't see the floor from the amount of them." Mingyu said as his eyes roamed the shelves trying to find a proper book for his boyfriend.

"Most of those are encyclopedic." Minghao said, running his fingers over the titles. "They are about the actual history, not fictional."

"Wonwoo knows all of that." Mingyu commented.

"Wonwoo seems as the type that knows everything alright." Jeonghan smiled and took a book out, running through its pages.

"He doesn't know _everything_." Mingyu smiled fondly. "He looks like it, but he doesn't. That look he has whenever he tries to learn something new, it's so..." Mingyu blushed at his own thoughts and shook his head. "Focus, focus. I'm getting him a book." he told to himself.

Jeonghan laughed from his chair. "Well you are so in love with him." he commented making the footman blush even more.

"You two are adorable together." Jeonghan said again and placed his elbow on the chair's arm leaning his head on his palm. "I can't say the same for your friends though." he voiced suddenly.

"I would hope I don't look adorable with Junhui." Minghao said with pursed lips, not turning to look at the other.

"How do you want to look with him?" the long haired asked.

Minghao raised his face, blankly looking at the shelf in front of him.

"Normal." he said and closed the book in his arms, putting it back in its place before taking another one out.

"So you're normally barely able to speak while looking him in the eyes?" Jeonghan said innocently, twirling a lock of his hair around his finger.

Minghao turned to look at him, annoyance obvious on his characteristics. "Are you implying something?" he asked him.

"What? Of course not." Jeonghan looked surprised. "I'm just trying to figure you all out." he then turned to Mingyu. "Your Wonwoo seems to be the least problematic in his relationships."

Minghao frowned again.

"So you're saying that the rest of us have problems?" the prince asked again.

"Minghao..." Mingyu trailed.

The prince turned towards the bookshelf again, pointedly showing Jeonghan his back. The long haired was so unnerving. Minghao was generally good with people, but he had no idea what to expect from the older.

"Did you bruise last night?" Jeonghan asked him after a while and Minghao almost dropped his book.

"What?" he asked immediately.

"When you fell off the bed." Jeonghan added with a patient smile.

"I-I don't think so." Minghao answered getting a better grip on the book. "Why are you asking?" he questioned, turning a page rather forcefully.

"I'm a pharmacist. I don't want you to be hurting under my watch." he said sweetly.

"Is that so? No, I don't have a bruise. Not on my skin at least. Now if there's something underneath it I can't possibly know that." the prince shrugged trying to appear indifferent with the situation.

"Aha!" Mingyu interrupted their talk as he procured a book from the lower shelf. "Look at this." he gave it to Jeonghan to look.

The other ran his eyes on the cover and smiled at Mingyu. "It seems good. I think it's a great choice."

"Finally." Minghao said and began walking towards the counter.

He was aware that he looked a bit rude, especially to his best friend who seemed so immersed in doing something nice for his lover. But between Jeonghan's comments and his own distressed thoughts, he didn't feel like being nice.

The situation with Junhui was really weird to say the least. The previous night the knight kissed him even though Minghao had specifically said not to involve feelings.

The confusing part though that Minghao actually liked it. And a lot.

He supposed it could be a physical thing. Last night had been pretty intense and truly enjoyable. But when he woke up next to Junhui this morning, he found himself not craving the sex anymore. He just wanted to bury his head on Junhui's bare chest, he wanted to pepper kisses all over his face, he wanted to wake him up with a deep, soft kiss like the knight had done the previous night. He wanted Junhui to open his eyes and smile and probably say something stupid, overly dramatic and cute. It was terrible how vividly this image was painted in his mind, how heavily it sat on his heart.

Suddenly, he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders comfortingly. He turned his head to the side and saw Jeonghan's long hair framing a small, knowing smile. This smile wasn't intrusive, compared to his previous behaviour. Minghao legitimately wanted to lean into him, get some genuine hyung comfort.

The price eyed his friend who was in front of the counter. Mingyu had the book clenched to his chest and he talking to the lady with an overly excited smile on his face. He radiated love from miles away and it suit him so much. Minghao couldn't help but wonder if he would look like that in case him and Junhui ended up together.

They probably wouldn't. They didn't work like that. They probably didn't work _at all_. Just when they had found a semblance of balance, Minghao had to go and ruin it. He was convinced that whenever they found any kind of peace it would always be ruined somehow.

"I just think it's hopeless. We've had so many talks to establish boundaries and understand each other, but here we are, messier than ever. I don't want to talk anymore." he said, aware that Jeonghan was listening.

"You will someday. You can't stay forever apart. And not because of those two if that's what you think." Jeonghan answered. "Because of something stronger." he looked at the prince, smiled and exited the shop.

After a while Mingyu bounced up behind him, the book on his chest wrapped in a pretty deep blue cloth.

Jeonghan waved at the lady in the shop before the three of them walked away.

"So, I have to go to the farm to get some milk and meat for Cheolie. I'm not even asking if Mingyu to come because he is mentally already back at the pub with Wonwoo." Jeonghan said and Mingyu scratched his head awkwardly, not bothering to deny the words. "But what about you?" the long haired turned to Minghao.

Minghao looked between Jeonghan and his friend. He didn't want to return yet. If he went back now, he had to avoid Junhui for the rest of the day. And it was still pretty early. So maybe tagging along with Jeonghan would be a better idea.

"I want to take a little more air, so I'll come." he said.

"Alrighty, have fun!" Mingyu said and turned to leave.

He walked a few steps away before abruptly turning back. "Where am I going exactly?" he asked Jeonghan with a sheepish smile.

Jeonghan laughed while Minghao shook his head.

"Go straight and then turn right at the second path. You'll see the river. Follow it and after a few meters you'll see the inn." Jeonghan explained simply.

"Okay. See you later." Mingyu waved and walked away, leaving the two alone.

“So, lets go get that milk, shall we?” Jeonghan patted Minghao on the shoulder. “Maybe the beauty of our village will give the answer that you seek so much.”

Minghao merely sighed, not believing slightly the last statement. But he turned to follow Jeonghan anyway.

~*~

Noon was slowly approaching, with the sun rising further up on the horizon. The pub started filling up, as customers began to arrive, in search for a cool beer or a cup of sweet wine. The two knights had remained on their table, speaking about many small things. It was nice, having some time just the two of them alone, like they used to do every afternoon after their training. Seungcheol had moved behind his counter not long after Jisoo had called for him, wiping some glasses.

When the door was heard opening for the nth time, Junhui lifted his head meeting Mingyu standing under the threshold. The footman smiled and he stepped inside, walking towards their table. A couple of steps away from the table Wonwoo noticed him and grinned, stopping his conversation with Junhui.

"Welcome back. How was the trip in the market?" he asked.

"You'll be the judge of that." Mingyu sat next to him and placed his gift in his lap. "This is for you." he smiled.

Wonwoo took the clothed gift in his hands. "Wait is that-?" he said as he started taking the cloth off. "A book. Oh God." the knight smiled widely trailing his fingers on the cover.

"You had so many, back at Gisa. You must have missed them." Mingyu explained. "I don't know if you'll like it but-"

His sentence was cut midway when suddenly his lap was filled with Wonwoo, the knight’s arms wrapping around his neck.

"Oh Mingyu, I love you so much, thank you!" he exclaimed happily. "Even if I don't like it, my heart is already full of you, because you are the best and most considerate person to ever grace this land with his being." he said, smooching the footman’s cheek.

Junhui cough awkwardly, glancing around to see a few people that were already staring at them. But he couldn't bring himself to separate his friends, not when Wonwoo was finally expressing himself like that.

Mingyu giggled, nuzzling in Wonwoo's neck. "This is nothing love. I love you too." he said.

"Excuse me." they suddenly heard a male voice behind their table.

Junhui hadn't noticed the middle-aged man walking over to them, too busy appreciating his friends' love. But now that the man was here, Mingyu quickly moved the other off of him, placing him in his previous chair.

"Can we help you?" the taller asked.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, huh? The word respect doesn't ring anything to you?” the man said with a disapproving tone. You should be ashamed.”

Junhui openly gapped at the man’s words. How dare he? And just when his friends finally were so happy. He looked at them to comfort them. Indeed, Mingyu's face has fallen and his cheeks were dusted pink in embarrassment.

"There nothing shameful about love, sir." Wonwoo replied, his voice steady.

Junhui gapped at him even more.

"If you think that's love young man then something is definitely wrong with you. There's no love between men. That pure disgust if you ask me." the man said again glaring at Wonwoo and Junhui started losing his patience.

"I don’t remember asking you though. So have a nice day." Wonwoo said curtly.

The man didn't get the signal to leave though. He made a disapproving sound and pointed at Wonwoo.

"What you're doing boy is illegal, you know that? I can have you reported at the authorities and dead by the end of the day." he said grimly. “Leave this place immediately.”

Mingyu elbowed Wonwoo to stop provoking him. But the man’s comments only seemed to fuel Wonwoo more. The knight wasn't anywhere near done.

"If you don't have anything more important to do than running all the way to Gisa, perhaps you should consider finding some love for yourself." he said coldly, eyes shifting with anger.

"How dare you?" the man said and lift his stick with the intention to hit Wonwoo.

Just before the stick touched the knight a hand appeared, catching it. Seungcheol having obviously heard the commotion, was stand right behind Wonwoo and Mingyu. Junhui never thought that the inn owner could look as intimidating as he did right then.

"If you would do us the favour old man, get out." Seungcheol said coldly, eyes dead serious and face was hard like a stone.

"Did you see those two, boy? It's them you should be kicking out not me." the man turned his glare at Seungcheol.

"No sir. I didn’t see any wrong behaviour from those two. They act how they felt they should, without bothering anyone. You on the other not only insulted them, you threatened to hit them and caused an unexpected episode in my pub. So if you please, the door is right there, _sir_." the owner said pointing at the said direction.

"Aish, Seungcheol." the man shoved the owner away. "I'm not paying for anything today." he spat before turning to leave with a last glare towards the couple.

"I'm so sorry, we got carried away..." Mingyu begun apologizing.

Seungcheol sighed and turned to the footman. "You don't have to apologise for anything. He had no right to speak to you like that." he said softly.

"He had though." Wonwoo said with a pissed frown. "There is no law against it. People are free to behave like that whenever they want."

"In the streets yes. But here is my inn, and I won't tolerate any behaviour like that inside these walls." the owner said again.

"I'm sorry. I should have picked a better time to give you the book. I wanted it to be a happy memory." Mingyu apologized again, his eyes not leaving the ground.

Wonwoo gave him one more kiss on the cheek.

"It is love. I've already forgot it, don't worry." Wonwoo said sweetly, caressing the footman's hair.

Suddenly Seungcheol clapped his hands, making Junhui jump on his seat.

"Let's celebrate. I will bring you wine and food. It's on the house. Just an apology for my client's behaviour. The memory will be happy leave it on papa Seungcheol." he said determined and left for the kitchen before anyone could protest

Junhui felt his heart clench. It felt good to have someone support and take care of his friends other than him and Minghao. He was sure that the prince would have been glad too. He wished he could share this with him.

Junhui noticed that everything felt really weird now that Minghao wasn't with them. His presence had become necessary. The knight wondered how it was all before Minghao appeared out of nowhere that night. His then-self would say normal. His now though... boring and maybe unhappy?

If the prince was here, he would have probably kicked the man out long before Seungcheol did. Junhui smiled fondly at the thought. Even between their arguments, miscommunication, and wrong decisions, he still missed him now that they weren't together.

That thought made the knight groan, hitting his his head on the table for the second time, scaring the other two.

"What is wrong with him?" Mingyu asked.

"You didn't talk with Minghao, did you?" Wonwoo simply said, patting Junhui's back.

"Well I was a bit busy trying to find a book, so no. But I did notice that he was a little snappier today." the footman stated.

"Snappier how? Did he look hurt or anxious or anything else?" Junhui lifted his head to ask.

"Well he did react weirdly when Jeonghan hyung asked him if he bruised when he fell from the bed. He was almost rude." the footman made a confused face.

Wonwoo snickered at that. "I like Jeonghan. He always knows what's up." he said.

"Why? Is something up?" Mingyu asked and Junhui groaned again. "What?" the footman whined.

"Their relationship is weird, as always." Wonwoo simply told him. "They have no sense of normalcy and they do careless things that make them catch feelings along the way, feelings that they aren't prepared to deal with." he explained.

"That explanation was book-worthy." Junhui mumbled.

"Wait a minute. Let me get this straight... You have feelings for Minghao?" Mingyu asked shocked.

"Well, you can't get it _straight_ , but..." Wonwoo commented.

"Oh my god, be quiet." Mingyu told his boyfriend, but smiled nonetheless. "Junhui hyung?"

"Yes pup." Junhui sighed and lifted his head from the table.

"What are you going to do about this?" the footman asked.

"I... I have no idea." Junhui answered, looking at Mingyu who raised him an eyebrow.

"Well his first plan was to ignore them and pray for Minghao to talk to him again." Wonwoo commented.

"How mature." Mingyu snorted.

"His second plan was to ignore both them and Minghao from now on." Wonwoo mercilessly continued.

"How manly." Mingyu shook his head.

Junhui looked at them offended.

"Will you stop judging me like that? Just because it was a success with you two that doesn't mean it's gonna be the same with us two. And I don't even know if _'us two'_ exists between me and Minghao." Junhui said frustrated.

"Sorry hyung. It's just weird to see you so... affected? You're always smiling with us." Mingyu said.

Junhui frowned again. Yeah, he was usually smiling in front of his friends. No one had tried to get to the deeper parts of him before, expect from Minghao with their agreement to honesty. Even Yanan, who had been aware that Junhui wasn't always as happy and careless as he looked, didn't try to get him to be more real with him.

Mingyu was right. The whole situation did affect him more than he liked to show. His emotions were all over the place and it was visible.

"What should I do?" he said seriously.

That moment Seungcheol reappeared with a tray of food and wine for lunch, like he promised.

"I hope everyone's happy. Too bad my musicians aren't here to cheer you up." he said, ruffling Mingyu and Junhui's hair.

He unloaded the tray, placing the plates in front of the three friends neatly and then brought the jug with the wine purring some in each of the four cups. He passed the drinks around and then sat with them.

"So, cheers?" he said and raised his cup.

"Cheers." the other three echoed, some less enthusiastically than others.

~*~

Minghao was tossing and turning in his bed. Honestly this was one of the most difficult sleeps he had since they left Gisa. Nothing helped him to calm down. Neither his body, nor his mind.

It turned out that avoiding Junhui was a lot harder than he expected. But not physically, no. The knight was nowhere to be found when Minghao returned to the inn late that evening with Jeonghan. It was more like emotionally.

All day there was a heavy feeling sitting in his stomach and a void piercing his heart. Everything his eye met as he walked around the small town with Jeonghan, remind him of the Chinese. Either that was a beautiful flower that Minghao knew Junhui would like, or a mere melody that seemed close to the lullabies the knight hummed.

The prince realised eventually that he had get used to the Junhui's presence so much on his every day, that he felt empty without him by his side.

Minghao groaned frustrated and fought to untangle himself from the sheets so he could go get a glass of water.

Since the inn was mostly empty from clients Seungcheol had shown them the way to the kitchen in case they needed something late at night. Which basically meant that the four of them could roam around the pub at any time they wanted. Minghao sighed tiredly and stood up walking towards the door. He opened it slowly and shuffled out in the corridor, not bothering to take a lantern with him.

But as soon as the door creaked close behind him, he heard something. A faint piano melody was traveling through the walls of the inn, twirling softly in the night’s air. Minghao arched an eyebrow. It was really late at night and the musicians had already left, so where did the music came from?

All kinds of scenarios played in his mind. Did someone break in the pub? No, they wouldn’t give away themselves like that. And how likely was for someone to barge in a pub just to play the piano? Minghao walked slowly down the stairs, trying to be as silent as possible. The melody became louder and louder as the prince climbed down the steps. When he reached the staircase of the first floor, he leaned over the railing to inspect the pub.

It was empty and dark? No, it wasn’t. As expected, a lone figure was sitting in front of the old piano at the back of the shop, swaying lightly at the sound of the song they were playing.

But it was nearly impossible to tell who it was only by the silhouette’s back.

The person moved, turning their face a little more to the side. Minghao squinted, trying to figure out who the hell was up at that hour. Well except of him. His eyes widen though when finally understood who it was.

It was Wen Junhui. Junhui was the one sitting at the piano playing and singing softly. Minghao almost gasped at the scene that unraveled in front of him. The moonlight that creeped from the windows inside the pub, casted down on the knight’s face, illuminating his sharp yet gentle characteristics. The felt like he was reliving that day at the plaza with the blossom tree. A scene right out of a wonderful novel.

He took another step down, trying to see better, but the stairs creaked. He held his breath. Luckily Junhui was too focused on his music, so he didn't hear him.

_It's as if the moment when we met was an accumulation or our fate in our previous lives._

Minghao inhaled surprised. Junhui's actual voice was so different than he had originally thought it would be. It was soft and gentle, a tug more pitched than his normal one. As always, the song was in Mandarin. So, feeling proud for recognizing his mother's language the prince focused to hear more.

_But this distance._

_We're on different trajectories._

_No matter how hard we try it'll still be full of sorrow._

Something clenched in Minghao's heart. That line… why it felt like it was perfectly describing the relationship him and Junhui had? So close but yet so far from each other. And that was what pained the most, the prince realised. There were right next to each other every day trying so hard to communicate.

But now feelings got involved. Minghao's feelings that came out of nowhere the previous night. Feeling’s that he couldn’t admit out loud. Not even to himself.

_I just haven't told you._

_I'm sorry I love you._

_I can't breathe if I don't have you. I can't watch you cry kilometers of tears. I just haven't mastered the courage_.

Minghao's train of thoughts made a sudden halt. His breath was caught in his throat as Junhui uttered those words. Something flared up inside the prince's body. Why did the word ‘ _love_ ’ sound so good when it came from Junhui's mouth?

Then, a sudden though popped in his mind. How would it sound like if those words were said for him? The prince shivered. Did he really wanted to hear those words? Could he even return them back himself?

He took one more glance at the knight. The small shapes and shadows the moon was drawing on his face making him look almost ethereal. Like he didn't belong in this world. Minghao's eyes unconsciously flickered on the knight’s lips and he immediately blushed.

How much he wanted to kiss them again. To taste Junhui's mouth on his. To feel his arms around his body, his warm breath on his neck, his soft voice in his ear.

It was at this moment that the reality hit Minghao hard in the face. He liked Junhui. Like romantically like. Not as a friend but as lover.

As Junhui continued hitting the notes of the melody perfectly, the prince was experiencing an existential crisis. And his incredible voice didn't help at all.

On the contrary it made Minghao think. Think how beautiful it would be if Junhui could sing to him like that while holding him in his warm arms. How it would be to wake up next to him. Kissing him good morning as he nuzzled in his neck, breathing Junhui's relaxing scent. Taking walks together, laughing and play with each other.

It would be good. It would be what the prince needed. Someone to support and balance him. And there was no other than Junhui that could fit perfectly for that role. To be the silliness at his staidness, the clumsiness at his watchfulness, the kindness and sweetness at his sarcasm and his irony. The prince smiled at the memory, when another voice was sounded at the top of the stairs, making him jump in surprise.

"Beautiful voice don’t you think?" Jeonghan said and Minghao turned to look at him.

"How?" he started but the other cut him once more.

"He came earlier when you were in your room and ask us for permission. Since the inn is practically soulless, we told him he could. He needed to get something out of his chest he said." Jeonghan explained closing his eyes.

"I didn't know he could play the piano. There are still so many things I don't know about him." Minghao whispered, leaning his head on the railing.

"Well, do you want to learn more things about him?" Jeonghan asked smirking.

"Yes. I want to learn everything there is, I wanted so from the beginning. But it's not just because I'm curious, not anymore." Minghao took a deep breath. "It's because he is amazing. From the way he looks, to all the stupid things he does that I don't understand, and they piss me off, everything is fascinating."

"That sounds like a confession to me, young prince." the older said. "But I'm the wrong person you're telling to." Jeonghan smiled and stood up again.

"Please, like you didn't know how I felt two days before I figured it out myself." Minghao glanced at him.

Jeonghan left out a quite laughed. "I've been busted... Though I meant your confession. I shouldn't be the one to hear it. He should be." the other voiced and pointed at Junhui's seated figure.

Minghao's eyes trailed back at the knight. He felt his eyes softening when they landed on his straighten back. But he couldn't confess. Not because he was proud, or egoistical or even anxious. It was simply because he would never be able to express himself in a way Junhui would understand. It wouldn't be fair for either of them. They couldn't possibly balance such feelings in their already shaky relationship. It wouldn’t hold.

Minghao didn't feel angry or sad about what he had accepted as reality. He only felt a calm, disappointed emptiness washing over him.

"It's too bad." he voiced quietly. “

"You know... When we first met Seungcheol, Jisoo was the one that go along best with him, even if he met him after me. At the beginning it was fine but after some time when our true characters started to appear Seungcheol and I had a... let's say communication problem.” Jeonghan started.

“My nature is rather playful, I think you have discovered that already, so I liked to tease him and prank him a lot. Seungcheol on the other hand, even though he is cute and playful himself, he has a limit. Especially when it comes to his business. I learned it the hard way. Anyway, my point is we had to talk _a lot_ , probably more than you and Junhui have. But we never thought about containing our feelings for one another just because we had to speak through our problems more than normal people." Jeonghan said and walked towards the prince.

"What I'm trying to tell you is; give each other at least a chance. Difficult doesn't mean impossible. Especially if you want it so much."

"Hyung, I think not even you can understand how complicated Junhui and I are. I only know him for a few months, but he has made me feel every emotion there is to feel. Anger, sadness, happiness, hope, you name it. And from all of those, there hasn't been one that we managed to preserve. Love, if I can _even call it_ that, is going to be no different." Minghao said solemnly.

Jeonghan looked Minghao and sighed. "Alright then act as you wish. But please do me this one favor okay? When he comes, because he will, just hear him out." he said, winked at the prince and the climbed the stairs back up vanishing in the dark of the hallway.

Minghao remained alone, his eyes unable to focus on anything else than Junhui. He hadn't lied to Jeonghan when he said that Junhui had introduced him to all the range of emotions.

Now the circle was finally completed with _longing_. He already loved Junhui as a friend and he had desired him a lot during the previous night. But now as he watched him from across the room, so close and yet so far, his heart ached that he couldn't be next to him. That was longing.

The prince looked at his knight until he felt his eyelashes becoming heavier. As he was falling asleep little by little his mind traveled him back at the day when he first met Junhui. How dangerous he was to him yet so captivating. He hadn't realised it then, but the Chinese was awfully handsome to his eyes, even if he was threatening him with his sword.

And after that he had secretly started falling for him. So secretly that not even he himself had apprehended it. Now, it was too late though. Maybe if he had realised it earlier there could be a chance for them to be something more.

But now they were bound to stay like that. Friends? Something less than that? Who knew?

It was the first night that Minghao slept feeling terribly disappointed with himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So!!!?? How was that for a chnage? Minghao and Junhui admitting the feelings they had only to themselves??
> 
> I'm really looking forward to you opinion in the comments!!
> 
> Also a small thing. Since I've read a couple of comments about the smut parts, I wanted to aske you; do you want me to place a brackets at the begining of every smut scene, so if you don't feel up to it you won't have to read it? Let me know in the comments.
> 
> So, until next time; take care, have fun and stay healty!
> 
> -SkWh


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